Celtic host Rangers in Premiership derby seeking recovery after back-to-back losses

League stakes and recent form

Celtic host Rangers at Celtic Park on Sunday at 12:00 BST in their first Scottish Premiership meeting of the 2026/27 season. Martin O'Neill's side entered the weekend leading the league table with a maximum return of 18 points from six matches, sitting five points ahead of Rangers. A victory on Sunday would extend Celtic's lead at the summit to eight points. However, Celtic enter the match after two consecutive defeats in cup competitions over the past week. Rangers defeated Celtic 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox last Sunday, and Hungarian club Ferencvaros beat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday. Rangers manager Derek McInnes brings his team into the match having won seven of their last eight games across all competitions.

If Celtic win and they're eight points clear, it changes the game.

Fan restrictions and home advantage

Sunday's fixture will take place in front of 60,411 home supporters, with no away fans permitted inside Celtic Park. The Scottish authorities imposed a total ban on visiting supporters for all Old Firm derbies this season following a pitch invasion during their Scottish Cup quarter-final in March, alongside disputes over ticketing allocations. The dynamic mirrors last Sunday's cup tie at Ibrox, where a 50,000-strong Rangers crowd witnessed their side's three-goal victory. United States defender Cameron Carter-Vickers noted that an exclusively home crowd offers Celtic a clear opportunity to reset their momentum after consecutive losses.

We want to come out on Sunday, with the crowd behind us and everyone together and try to put a performance together that will get the result we want.

Squad adjustments and injury list

O'Neill faces tactical decisions ahead of his 30th Old Firm derby after integrating 10 new signings into Celtic's squad during the summer transfer window. Sam Johnstone, Mika Baur, Kasper Hogh, and Camilo Duran all made their derby debuts in last week's cup defeat alongside academy graduate Colby Donovan. Celtic remain without winger Yang Hyun-Jun due to Asian Games duty, while Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand, and Jota remain sidelined with injuries. Rangers will also navigate squad absences, as club captain Lawrence Shankland and forward Youssef Chermiti are ruled out of the trip to Glasgow's east end. Derek McInnes will rely on Dan Neil, who scored two goals against Celtic last Sunday, alongside Kevin Kelsy in attack.

Defensive mindset and broadcast details

Carter-Vickers emphasized that Celtic need collective resilience to stabilize their defensive structure following the European loss to Ferencvaros. Mika Baur had equalized before half-time in that match before Daniel Arzani scored shortly after the restart to seal the Hungarian side's win. Earlier in the season, Celtic were eliminated from the Champions League play-offs by Austrian side LASK in a 5-4 aggregate defeat after holding a 4-0 lead. Sunday's fixture will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Premier Sports 1 starting at 11:00 BST, while viewers in the United States can watch via the CBS Sports Golazo Network stream.

Difficult game. Obviously it didn't go our way. Off the back of last weekend as well we're disappointed with both of those. But I think we've got to stick together as a team, as a group, and really double down on what we believe and the way we want to play and just keep trying to improve.