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Half-time: Celtic 1-0 Rangers
It’s all working out well for the under-fire Wilfried Nancy so far with his side very worthy of their half-time lead. But one goal isn’t enough. Rangers hit back with 10 men to level in the recent cup semi and Danny Rohl will surely have them better set up after the break. Stay tuned!
Updated at 08.25 EST
45+1 min: Rangers have the ball in the net! Moore was onside for the tap-in but the flag was always going to go up due to Rangers’ Chermiti being offside in the build-up. A little warning sign perhaps as the half-time whistle goes.
Updated at 08.23 EST
45+1 min: Two added minutes to play. Mikey Moore’s shot is blocked for a corner after another poor clearance from Schmeichel.
44 min: Good hold-up play from Kenny, who finds Yang out on the right. He’s been a real threat so far but this time blazes a cross – or was it a shot? – well over the Rangers bar.
43 min: Chermiti wins a free-kick on the right. A chance to put a ball into the Celtic box. Barron takes but the flag goes up for offside as Chermiti wins the header. More frustration for the visitors.
41 min: Rangers just haven’t strung anything together to this point. Just the odd moment. Passes now going astray as they try and build something but the ball won’t stick.
39 min: Under Nancy, Celtic’s only two wins have come against a 10-man Aberdeen and bottom club Livingston. This would easily be his best result (and performance?) so far if it plays out the same way after the break. Rangers will have different ideas though.
37 min: One thing we do know about this Rangers side under Rohl is that they’re resilient and won’t fold easily. But, right now, the Gers boss will be happy to get in just 1-0 down. Another Celtic chance as McCowan heads goalwards from around 15 yards after a cross from the lively Yang but that’s straightforward enough for Butland.
Updated at 08.10 EST
35 min: Yang threatens to get in again after a ball over the top but Butland is quickly off his line to snuff out the danger. It’s too easy for Celtic to get in behind. The shot count has risen to 10-2 in the hosts’ favour.
34 min: Engels pulls the trigger from 25 yards out in a central position but his shot is blocked. Rangers hanging on a bit here.
32 min: Celtic enjoying just under 60% possession and they’ve had five shots to just two from Rangers. The hosts also lead the touched in the opposition box count: 7-5.
Make that seven shots to two! Kenny flashes in a fierce left-foot shot from the edge of the area which Butland palms away. Yang then keeps the ball in play as the Rangers goalkeeper flaps at a high ball before another Celtic shot clears the bar by a long way. Nancy will be desperate for his side to add a second goal ASAP.
30 min: Celtic lead but it’s genuinely hard to say who scores the next goal. It’s fascinatingly poised with half an hour gone.
28 min: Rangers are sniffing a leveller here but every time they go forward and create a bit of danger, Celtic threaten to punish them on the break.
26 min: So close to a Rangers equaliser. The ball finds a way through, somewhat fortunately, to Gassama but, one-on-one, Schmeichel does what his Dad used to in this situation by making himself big and pawing away the lofted shot.
Updated at 08.00 EST
25 min: Danger for Celtic. A shot is deflected into the air and Schmeichel decides to pursue it but doesn’t get to the ball first. Thankfully, his defence helps him out. Celtic break – yet again – and Kenny’s shot is blocked.
23 min: Even in this troubled season, Celtic have won all seven matches at home in the SPL this term when scoring the first goal.
22 min: Rangers can’t say they weren’t warned. Celtic had been cranking the pressure up and just 23 seconds after Kenny had missed a glorious chance, Yang took matters into his own hands.
Updated at 07.55 EST
GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Rangers (Yang 20)
20 min: Golden chance for Kenny as Celtic break again but his shot is saved by Butland. But Yang more than makes up for the miss. He picks the ball up around 40 yards out, charges forward leaving Rangers defenders trailing in his wake and then thumps a shot into the roof of the net that flashes past Butland. What a hit! What a goal! Celtic’s pressure is rewarded.
Yang Hyun-Jun pulls the trigger to fire Celticc into the lead! Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAYes Yang! Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAShare
Updated at 07.56 EST
18 min: Corner for Rangers on the left. It’s deep to the far post where Chermiti nods it back but Celtic hold firm.
17 min: Nancy makes notes on the sideline. Eggs. Bread. The jokes write themselves.
Updated at 07.49 EST
16 min: Rangers win a free-kick and load the box, five players standing behind Celtic’s rearguard. The ball is whipped in by Barron form the right-hand touchline but he doesn’t clear the two home defenders. A waste.
15 min: That first 15 minutes has flown by. Rangers started the better but Celtic are very much on top now.
14 min: Engels sends in the corner and Trusty, rising above everyone just outside the six-yard box, heads wide. Massive chance. The big defender should have buried that.
12 min: Celtic really stretching Rangers again on the break through Kenny and Raskin gets a vital foot in on the edge of the area. A rocky patch this for Rangers and Souttar now concedes a corner.
10 min: Celtic get in behind again but the ball to Yang is overhit. They recycle possession and McGregor tugs his shot from outside of the box wide of Butland’s post. Not a great hit but the first real effort on goal.
9 min: Kenny gets in behind and flashes a ball across the Rangers six-yard box but no Celtic shirt is there for what would have been a tap-in. Best moment of the match so far. The Hoops press asgain and Sterling has to make a vital interception.
7 min: A first booking of the game for Aasgaard, who was sent off in the League Cup semi. A poor touch allows McCowan to escape so Aasgaard pulls him back and takes the booking.
6 min: Rangers have made the brighter start, winning duels and forcing Celtic back. Schmeichel with another poor kick gives the visitors a throw-in.
4 min: First little moment of controversy as Engels goes down after catching an arm in the face by Fernandez. Nothing given as the Celtic No.27 gets to his feet.
Emmanuel Fernandez clatters into Arne Engels. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAShare
Updated at 07.43 EST
3 min: Celtic play the ball around at the back and Schmeichel’s kick isn’t convincing. That won’t help settle the home crowd.
1 min: Rangers win a throw-win deep in the Celtic half but don’t opt to hurl in a long one. So much so the ball ends up back with goalkeeper Jack Butland.
ShareKick-off
We’re underway. Celtic in green and white hoops. Rangers in blue. No messing about with daft away kits here. The visitors get the ball rolling.
ShareJohn Robertson tribute
Before kick-off, a minute’s applause for Scotland legend John Robertson, who passed away recently. The winger was one of Martin O’Neill’s assistants at Celtic.
Wilfried Nancy, looking rather pensive, takes his place pitchside. A huge day for the Celtic boss.
A rousing rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” blares out from the terraces. We’re five minutes away from the latest edition of this classic derby.
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy has his say ahead of kick-off. Teams now warming up.
“This is a special game. It’s a rivalry, so we know the importance of this game. My player wants to do well for them, obviously, but also for the fans, for the club.
“This is a good game to play, obviously, with a lot of pressure. But all the games against Rangers are like this, so the player knows that. So now it’s to play and express ourselves.
“Motherwell was another game. Today is a new game, so there is no comparison. So what I want to have is my team to play, to go forward when this is the moment, to keep the ball when this is the moment and to compete. For me, this is the most important to win the game.
“Tactically I want to see something and also in terms of freshness I want to see something. Like every team, you know, they [Rangers] try to play when this is the moment and also to play direct. So we are aware about this. So the idea is to attack well but also to defend well, to be balanced when we attack.
“Motherwell was a setback I would say. But I’m not concerned by that because I know the context of the game.”
Updated at 07.19 EST
A reminder that we also have a 12.30pm kick-off in the Premier League. That’ll be Aston Villa hosting Nottingham Forest and Sarah Rendell has live coverage.
Here’s Rangers boss Danny Röhl speaking ahead of kick-off. This is his first league Old Firm derby.
“I think in the last couple of weeks we took a lot of good results. We come with more belief, with more convictions. I think this is important.
“And for me, the two things, we have to be emotionally ready. I know we will. And I want to see a team who is also, from the technical side, very well organised today.
“And if we do this together, we have a good opportunity to take something. As you mentioned, we have been winning games, but it’s that feeling that we need.”
Updated at 07.00 EST
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton describes Wilfried Nancy’s pre-match press conference as “really, really odd” as he speaks live pitchside. Plenty would agree. Here’s Ewan Murray’s piece on the Frenchman’s “impassioned defence” of his methods and poor start.
A quick look at the SPL table with kick-off just under an hour away. Rangers can pull level with Celtic on 38 points with a win.
Incidentally, Celtic remains favourites to win the title despite their recent blips. Current odds: 10/11 Celtic, 15/8 Hearts, 4/1 Rangers.
Sky Sports going with a ‘Stranger Things’-themed intro to reflect the rather odd seasons both Old Firm sides have endured. I need my daughter in the room to get some of the references.
Celtic make three changes from their woeful 2-0 defeat against Motherwell last time. But there’s only a place on the bench for new signing Julian Araujo, who has joined on loan from Bournemouth. Celtic bring in Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Johnny Kenny from the team that lost at Fir Park while Liam Scales, Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate move to the bench.
Rangers boss Danny Röhl makes two changes from the side that edged out Kilmarnock 2-1. Skipper James Tavernier and Mohamed Diomande are named among the substitutes as in come Dujon Sterling and Connor Barron.
ShareStarting lineups
The team sheets are in. Here are you starting XIs.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Trusty, Tierney, Yang, McGregor, Engels, McCowan, Nygren, Maeda, Kenny.
Subs: Sinisalo, Scales, Yamada, Araujo, Bernardo, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Donovan.
Rangers: Butland, Sterling, Souttar, Fernandez, Meghoma, Barron, Raskin, Aasgaard, Moore, Gassama, Chermiti.
Subs: Kelly, Nsiala, Aarons, Tavernier, Curtis, Dowell, Diomande, Miovski, Danilo.
Updated at 06.24 EST
It’s a chilly one degree at Celtic Park today although the ‘feels like’ thermometer symbol shows -3. Then again, in Ohio, where Wilfried Nancy previously managed Columbus Crew, it’s -7 (no higher than -3 all day) so he clearly moved to Glasgow for the weather.
SharePreamble
There’s nothing unusual about Celtic and Rangers being separated by just three points ahead of a New Year’s Old Firm derby. But it is far from the norm to see respective points tallies of 38 (Celtic) and 35 (Rangers) with 19 games gone. Those wobbles have allowed Hearts (41 points) to take charge at the top of the table and the leaders should bank another win when they host bottom club Livingston tomorrow.
Rangers fans will wonder how they’re in a title race after the woeful start under Russell Martin but the baton of despair has now been handed to Celtic’s supporters, who have watched the upturn under stand-in boss Martin O’Neill completely evaporate since the appointment of Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman has suffered five defeats in his opening seven games – unthinkable at Celtic – and another loss here could be catostrophic.
Unusual times then although some things never change in an Old Firm fixture. Glasgow braces itself. Ex-pats all around the world don either green or blue. Kick-off at Celtic Park is 12.30pm GMT.