Sunday marks Martin O’Neill’s first Old Firm derby at Celtic Park since a 2-0 defeat to Rangers in February 2005.
He can ill afford anything other than victory this time as Celtic, with just three games left and a three-point deficit, pursue long-time leaders Hearts, who visit Motherwell on Saturday night.
Rangers travel across the city with their title hopes hanging by a thread after a damaging defeat at Tynecastle on Monday. Even if they can’t take the crown themselves, the Ibrox side would revel in dealing a fatal blow to their fierce rivals’ glory bid.
So there’s plenty at stake as the Old Firm collide for the final time this season. In the three previous league meetings, Celtic had a different manager at the helm in each, while Russell Martin managed one derby for Rangers before being jettisoned.
Watch below for a recap of what has happened so far in this season’s Premiership Old Firm showdowns.
The first meeting of the sides this season was dreadfully dull, with many suggesting it was one of the lowest-quality Old Firm games ever.
Home defender John Souttar did have the ball in the net in the first half – but it was ruled out for offside as then coaches Martin and Brendan Rodgers settled for a point.
In what was Wilfried Nancy’s final game in charge of Celtic, Rangers drew level with Celtic in second place in the Premiership as Youssef Chermiti’s second-half double and Mikey Moore’s clincher gave Danny Rohl’s side an incredible comeback win.
Nancy’s men were 1-0 up at the interval through Yang Hyun-Jun’s thumping finish but failed to make their dominance count as Rangers roared back, ending Nancy’s eight-game tenure in 45 ruthless minutes.
In April at March it was Celtic’s turn to mount a stirring comeback, rallying from two down to rescue a dramatic point thanks to Reo Hatate’s injury-time equaliser.
Chermiti’s first-half double – including a world-class overhead kick – put Rangers in the driving seat, only for O’Neill’s men to hit back through Kieran Tierney and substitute Hatate.
The result left Hearts six points clear at the top – what will be the title race state of play when the dust settles on this weekend?
