Predicted Celtic XI vs Rangers: Hoops seek Old Firm redemption as Martin O'Neill eager to set record straight
Here’s how we think Martin O’Neill will set up his Celtic starting XI against Rangers on Sunday
Celtic will be determined to put last weekend’s Old Firm disappointment behind them when Rangers visit Celtic Park on Sunday for a crucial Scottish Premiership showdown.
The Hoops remain top of the table after a perfect opening to their league campaign, winning all six matches and building a five-point advantage over their city rivals. That record will provide Martin O’Neill’s side with confidence, despite a difficult week that saw them knocked out of the League Cup by Rangers before suffering a 3-1 Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros.
The champions now have an immediate opportunity to respond. Rangers produced a convincing 3-0 victory at Ibrox last Sunday, with Dan Neil scoring twice and Kevin Kelsy also finding the net. The result ended Celtic’s hopes of reclaiming the League Cup and gave Derek McInnes a significant early victory in his first Old Firm derby.
However, the setting changes this weekend. Celtic return to their own ground knowing another victory would stretch their lead over Rangers to eight points. With six league wins from six, O’Neill’s side have already demonstrated their consistency domestically, and they will look to reassert that authority in front of the Parkhead support.
The challenge will be turning possession and attacking pressure into goals while avoiding the defensive lapses that proved costly in recent matches. Rangers will arrive with confidence, but Celtic have the chance to make last weekend’s result a setback rather than a turning point in the title race.
What has Celtic boss, Martin O’Neill said?
“We’re ready to go. We really are. We’ll get prepared for the game. It was a difficult game last Sunday and difficult, obviously, last night, but we’re raring to go. It’s a big game whether it’s played in September or March time. It’s a really big game, and we need to be up for it.
“Just analysing last night’s game, we had all the possession for 10 or 15 minutes. We created a number of great chances and had we taken one of those and got ourselves into the lead, then I think confidence would have been restored.
“But we’re far from rock bottom. We’re still in the lead in the league and if we could win this, we can extend the lead. You could do any press conference on a Friday for any manager who would maybe have lost a previous game, and they still talk about confidence and restoration of it. So that’s nothing new.
“When you lose a game, some players maybe don’t play up to their potential, and of course then the first thing you think is maybe a little bit of confidence. But you can restore that with a victory.”
How we think Celtic will line up vs Rangers
Viljami Sinisalo; Colby Donovan, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Kieran Tierney; Callum McGregor, Mika Baur, Benjamin Nygren; Haissem Hassan, James Forrest; Camilo Duran.
SUBS: Sam Johnstone (GK), Jordan Lotomba, Liam Scales, Kasper Hogh, Sebastian Tounekti, Oliver Sorensen, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shim Mheuka, Anthony Ralston.
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