Old Firm Derby Showdown: Rangers and Celtic Prepare for Intense Clash

By the time the floodlights snap on at Ibrox on Wednesday, the Scottish Premiership table could have that familiar, slightly ominous feel. If Rangers stretch their winning run to four, and Celtic keep their domestic record spotless, the Old Firm will march into Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final locked on points and brimming with intent.

First, they both have work to do.

Rangers welcome a buoyant St Mirren to Govan. Celtic head up the road to Perth, where a resurgent St Johnstone are chasing a third straight league victory at McDiarmid Park. The dress rehearsal for the season’s first derby is anything but gentle.

Rangers building momentum – but St Mirren won’t scare easily

Derek McInnes’ Rangers are starting to look like a side that knows what it is again. Points slipped away in their opening two league games and Europe vanished early, but three straight wins over Aberdeen, Falkirk and Motherwell have steadied the mood and sharpened the edge.

The table tells its own story. Rangers sit behind third-placed St Mirren only on goal difference, a reflection of the Paisley club’s bright start rather than any failure at Ibrox. Craig McLeish has turned heads with a more fluid, confident style and has already been named Premiership manager of the month for August.

He insists this is no fluke.

"I'm not surprised it's come together so quickly - I get that from the outside it might look like that," McLeish said. "There's an internal belief about what we're doing and the work we can do on the pitch. It could have been even better and we were close to it being even better."

That belief took a dent, though, the last time St Mirren came to Ibrox. Rangers tore them apart in the Premier Sports Cup, a comprehensive thrashing that underlined the gap when McInnes’ side hit full stride.

James Penrice lit up that afternoon. On his Rangers debut, the left-back scored one and set up another in a five-goal rout, announcing himself as a key part of McInnes’ reshaped defence. He has started every game since, as have central defenders Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez. Makhanya has brought composure, Fernandez the occasional wobble, but the consistency of selection has given Rangers a platform.

Motherwell barely laid a glove on them at Ibrox on Saturday. Rangers, by contrast, passed up several chances to pad their lead, a reminder that while control is improving, ruthlessness still has room to grow.

McInnes knows the pressure never really leaves this club.

"I don't think that ever lifts until you've got a trophy in your hand," he said. "But I do think there's been a good feel about the place. What we have had in recent weeks is just small steps, encouragement, confidence levels."

Those small steps are now being taken without Lawrence Shankland. Just as the striker rediscovered his scoring touch, injury struck. It means new forward Kevin Kelsy may be thrown straight into the fire, with little time to adjust to his new surroundings.

History offers a warning. Rangers edged the last two league meetings with St Mirren by a single goal, but before that the Buddies went four unbeaten in this fixture. McLeish’s side also pushed Celtic hard at the weekend in Paisley, impressing between both boxes but lacking a finish.

They arrive in Glasgow without midfielder Paul Nsio, ineligible against his parent club. His absence matters. Rangers dominated the midfield in last month’s cup tie, and without Nsio’s bite, the visitors risk being overrun in the same area again.

Win, and Rangers hit the derby on a four-game streak, the noise rising around Ibrox. Slip, and the old questions about consistency resurface just when they can least afford them.

Celtic perfect at home, tested on the road

Across the city, Celtic’s domestic record remains untouched. The trauma of a Champions League qualifying exit in Austria lingers in the background, but at home they have responded with relentless efficiency, backed by a late flurry of transfer-window arrivals.

Saturday in Paisley was no procession. Celtic fell behind and never quite found their trademark fluency, yet still found a way. Yang Hyun-jun drove them forward, his energy and direct running the difference, and he finished the job with the decisive goal.

Now he is gone, at least for a while. The winger has joined South Korea for the Asian Games, forcing Martin O’Neill into a reshuffle just as Yang had become central to Celtic’s attacking spark.

The obvious fix would be to push Camilo Duran wide again, but O’Neill has a problem of the best kind. Duran has been electric through the middle, with three goals and two assists in his last three games at centre-forward. Shift him out of that role and Celtic lose their most in-form No 9.

If O’Neill keeps Duran central, on-loan Chelsea striker Shim Mheuka could be handed a first start. He is one of six players who arrived in the frantic final 48 hours of the window. So far only Mheuka and Oliver Sorensen have emerged from the bench, with the rest – including winger Sebastian Tounekti – waiting their turn.

Tounekti may be the safe call to replace Yang from the start, allowing Duran to stay where he has done the most damage. There is more good news for O’Neill: striker Kasper Hogh and left-back Kieran Tierney are back in contention after brief injury lay-offs, strengthening both ends of the pitch.

Celtic will need that depth in Perth. St Johnstone under Simo Valakari are not the deep-sitting, backs-to-the-wall side of old. They want the ball. They want to play through the thirds. They want to take the game to the champions.

"They want to play football as well and they're committed," O’Neill said. "There's a vitality about them which is very encouraging. Not dissimilar in many aspects to what Craig McLeish is doing at St Mirren."

The numbers back up that sense of life about Saints. Three of Josh Fowler’s four goals have come at McDiarmid Park, where his movement and finishing have given St Johnstone a cutting edge they often lacked last season. On the right, local lad Taylor Steven has caught the eye with his delivery, his crossing a constant threat in the win over Hibs.

At the back, Cheick Diabate and Zach Mitchell form a rugged, no-nonsense pairing. They attack everything, heads first. Yet the clean sheet column still reads zero in the league, a nagging flaw as Celtic roll into town.

Valakari knows the scale of the task.

"We need to do our football things so well, then at the same time, we need to earn our luck, because against Celtic, if you want to beat them, you need to be a little bit lucky in some moments," the Finn said.

He has history on his side, if not recent form. O’Neill has not managed in Perth for 25 years, but Celtic’s last visit brought a jolt: a home win for St Johnstone in April 2025, one of the few bright sparks in a season that still ended in relegation.

Saints are back, rebuilt and ambitious. Celtic are champions, wounded in Europe but ruthless at home. Rangers are closing fast, their own belief quietly hardening.

Two league games on Wednesday, one derby on Sunday. By the end of the week, we will know whether this Old Firm clash launches a title race, or simply confirms that the familiar order is already snapping into place.