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Match Coverage

The players head out amid the roar, Hampden split down the middle with blue and green sections. To earn the chance to play St Mirren here next month … the action begins.

Other Matches

More matches: John Brewin offers real-time commentary for West Ham v Newcastle in the Premier League; Yara El-Shaboury brings the newest developments from the initial games in the Women's Super League.

As for us, we're only five minutes away before the game begins at the national stadium!

Officiating Team

Nick Walsh will referee this match. He was also the referee for last year's Scottish Cup final involving Celtic and Rangers plus a European fixture in the last term during which he issued four sending-offs and twelve cautions. Avoid challenging him.

Dugout Views

The German coach: Despite this being his debut in this fixture, the recently appointed boss has made it clear recently that he's used to being involved in other important local clashes during his managerial journey, during his time at Bayern plus his stint at Wednesday.

I recall when Hansi Flick assumed control, our following match was versus Dortmund at home. We triumphed 4-0. It always provides a lift following success in these encounters. Additionally, in the EFL Championship during the Steel City derby, I was also part [of it] there. I recognize the importance for the fans. This represents more than a simple match.

The young coach has also been lauding the enduring career of 73-year-old Martin O'Neill.

I feel a big respect for such a managerial journey. I consider it consistently remarkable in this profession when you sustain your career over decades in this business and accomplish your objectives.

I am just at the beginning my professional journey. I have a lot of work to do to achieve similar status but the good thing is we commence evenly matched, different generations and we'll discover what we can demonstrate via our selections in this game.

I am very excited. I have had some experience yet I foresee a big, big one this Sunday. To participate in such a match, everything is at stake. Victory means reaching the final, you lose, you're out. I believe all factors align for an outstanding match.

Rival Coach

The Celtic manager: The Celtic interim manager has been reflecting this week about his first meeting versus their rivals two and a half decades past, the famous 6-2 demolition.

Now, repeating that performance might be extremely difficult, putting six past them against those opponents. I'd settle for a really lousy 1-0 victory should we achieve it. Certain supporters approach and mention to me: 'That was a great game', despite not being born at the time. They relate to me their ancestors and parents spoke about it regularly. It evolved into a decisive encounter for our club, not only during that campaign, but possibly for sustained development.

The tension for nearly 72 hours prior to the match, and then should you secure success, a great relief. And I believe that's exactly the renowned Walter Smith frequently stated similarly, that relief outweighed other emotions. Yet these represented superb matches really. It's still a fantastic fixture.

This is a big game for us. Really, don't disguise that at all. It's a semi-final encounter, it's a crucial contest for us. Any Celtic-Rangers game is a big game, however specifically because of the circumstances of the past few days, if not weeks, definitely.

Dugout History

Two different coaches on the sidelines this afternoon though there's a significant difference in derby experience between them. Danny Röhl faces his debut as Rangers manager while Martin O'Neill gets ready to manage his twenty-eighth.

Today's result might significantly influence on the duration O'Neill's second spell as stand-in Celtic coach continues, as Ewan Murray has been pondering.

They could potentially invest substantial compensation to persuade Kieran McKenna away from Ipswich. They may attempt a larger risk on Robbie Keane. The reigning champions could decide to provide Club Brugge's Nicky Hayen a debut opportunity within British soccer. These represent risks to varying degrees. Beyond O'Neill? This is arguable.

Starting Lineups

Celtic FC (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Sarrachi; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti.

Reserves: Sinisalo, Balikwisha, Yang, Osmand, McCowan, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Tierney.

Marcelo Sarrachi starts ahead of Kieran Tierney in the left-back position. James Forrest is also omitted from the first team that beat Falkirk in their recent match.

Rangers (3-4-3): Butland; Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius; Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma; Aasgaard, Chermiti, Danilo.

Substitutes: Kelly, Aarons, Fernández, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.

James Tavernier gets the nod over Max Aarons on the right, including Mohamed Diomande replacing the banned Connor Barron in central areas and Thelo Aasgaard chosen over Mikey Moore in offensive positions.

Match Preview

Greetings and welcome to this derby match. It's got to be better {than last time|compared to the previous meeting|versus