Predicted Rangers XI vs Celtic: Derek McInnes faces strike dilemma as Gers aim to double down on Old Firm dominance

Rangers head to Celtic Park on Sunday with the confidence of already having proved they can get the better of their Glasgow rivals this season.

Derek McInnes’ side produced an emphatic 3-0 victory over Celtic at Ibrox last weekend, booking their place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals in the process. Dan Neil struck twice before Kevin Kelsy completed the scoring, with the Light Blues combining aggression, discipline and clinical finishing to dominate the first Old Firm meeting of the campaign.

Now comes a very different test. Celtic will have home advantage and the opportunity to respond immediately, while Rangers will be looking to demonstrate that their cup success was more than a one-off result.

The league table means Celtic still hold the upper hand, sitting top with 18 points from six matches. Rangers are five points behind in second, although McInnes’ team have recovered strongly after a difficult start, winning their last four league games.

Another positive result for Rangers in Glasgow’s east end would change the complexion of the early title race. The challenge will be reproducing the intensity shown at Ibrox while dealing with a Celtic side expected to be energised by a packed home crowd.

There will be no travelling Rangers support inside Celtic Park, with away fans absent from Old Firm fixtures for the remainder of the season. McInnes will therefore ask his players to deliver another composed performance on hostile ground as Rangers look to make it two Old Firm victories in the space of seven days.

What has Rangers boss, Derek McInnes said?

“I think we’ll need a bit more than last week, to be honest. You need to play on the back of that. There was a lot of talk last week about our press and our aggression and all the rest of it, but there was also a lot of good play.

“There were also good combinations, bodies in the box, umpteen crosses. We carried a threat from set plays. I thought we had good composure at the right time. Everybody can talk about the aggression and the press and everything else and I get that’s a part of it but it’s only a part of it.

“You’ve still got to perform and play and make good decisions on the ball. You still need your ball carriers to be influential. You still need your strikers to link the play.

“Looking back at the game, there was a lot of what we would have hoped for that we got from the game. We’ll need that and a bit more to be honest.”

How we think Rangers will line up vs Celtic

Ivor Pandur; Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya, James Penrice; Dan Neil, Nicolas Raskin, Badredine Bouanani, Djeidi Gassama; Kim Min-Su; Kevin Kelsy.

SUBS: Liam Kelly (GK), Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, Cammy Devlin, Vanja Dragojevic, Bojan Miovski, Ross McCausland, Tochi Chukwuani, Findlay Curtis

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