The Old Firm derby takes centre stage as Rangers and Celtic meet in a Scottish Cup quarter-final clash. The two rivals face off at Ibrox, a week after a 2-2 draw in the Premiership.
Celtic’s Injury Concerns and Rangers’ New Additions
Celtic are without Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney due to injury. Rangers have brought in Nasser Djiga and Mohamed Diomande.
That draw in the Premiership left Hearts with a commanding lead at the top. This means the Scottish Cup has now taken on an added significance for both Glasgow clubs.
A Week After Dramatic Draw, Tensions High
Celtic fought back from two goals down to salvage a point last weekend. A double from Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti was cancelled out by Tierney and an injury-time penalty follow-up from Reo Hatate.
This is the second time they have met in a domestic cup competition this season. They previously met in an extra-time thriller in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park back in November, which Martin O’Neill’s side won 3-1 against 10 men. However, they have not won any game away at Ibrox since September 2023.
Fallout from the Previous Match
Martin O’Neill hopes full away allocation will continue in the Old Firm derby. When asked about post-match scenes, O’Neill said there were a few tete-a-tetes. He added that Old Firm games are explosive and maybe that’s one of the reasons why the derby is one of the best in the world.
Rangers boss Danny Rohl said he had already made his way back into the tunnel before the post-match trouble kicked off. Rohl stated that nobody likes to see the emotional situation after a game and that all the other things should not be in the stadium or around football.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) have launched an investigation into those regrettable post-match scenes at Ibrox.