Rangers host Celtic in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon in the first Old Firm derby of 2025, with the visitors starting the year with a 14-point lead at the top of the table.
Celtic have dominated domestically so far this term, winning the League Cup against their old rivals last month, and a win today could well put the title out of Rangers’ reach.
Meanwhile, Rangers boss Philippe Clement is under pressure after his side’s draw to Motherwell handed Celtic a 14-point lead going into New Year’s Day, and though a win today would claw back some ground in the title race, another loss would put the Belgian in a very precarious position even at this stage of the season.
Follow all the latest updates from the Ibrox below:
Rangers v Celtic LIVE
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Rangers host Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, with kick-off at 3pm | Live on Sky Sports
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Rangers have struggled in the league in recent weeks
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Celtic have opened up a 14-point lead at the top heading into 2025
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Rangers XI: Kelly, Ridvan, Propper, Sterling, Jefte, Raskin, Diomande, Bajrami, Hagi, Cerny, Igamane
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CelticXI: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Kyogo
GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Celtic (Hagi, 9)
15:11 , Jack Rathborn
9 mins
Yilmaz sprinting towards the Celtic goal and Ibrox rises in expectation.
A better response now from Rangers… GOAL! HAGI!
Raskin picked the pocket and then the lovely backheel allows Hagi to gallop onto it and strike it low and hard into the bottom right corner, a stunner, 1-0!
Rangers 0-0 Celtic
15:07 , Jack Rathborn
3 mins
A brilliant cross from McGregor, it almost fell kindly inside the six-yard box to Kyogo, a big chance! Away for another corner… It was poor from Yilmaz and his fluffed clearance at the back post.
Rangers suffering already, still 0-0 and relief as it’s punted up towards the half-way line.
Rangers 0-0 Celtic
15:06 , Jack Rathborn
2 mins
We’re underway at Ibrox, a must-win for Rangers.
Celtic, whose players huddled in a circle seconds before kick-off, get on the ball early here and spark plenty of boos…
It’s frantic stuff from Rangers, Celtic piling on the pressure inside two minutes. Kyogo snatched at it with a few more swings at goal, corner…
Rangers v Celtic
15:03 , Jack Rathborn
Beautifully observed by the supporters, and we’re ready to go here. A final reminder of that team news…
Rangers XI: Kelly, Ridvan, Propper, Sterling, Jefte, Raskin, Diomande, Bajrami, Hagi, Cerny, Igamane
Subs: Munn, Cortes, Barron, Dessers, Matondo, Dowell, King, Fraser, Danilo
CelticXI: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Kyogo
Subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Palma, Idah, Valle, Yang, McCowan, Engels, Ralston
Rangers v Celtic
15:02 , Jack Rathborn
A minute’s silence upcoming for the Ibrox disaster in 1971, which led to 66 deaths…
Rangers v Celtic
15:00 , Jack Rathborn
The teams are out at Ibrox and ‘Simply The Best’ is blasting out of the tannoy speakers…
Here we go, this should be a fiery one, win or bust for the hosts.
Rangers v Celtic
14:58 , Jack Rathborn
Match facts
14:40 , Chris Wilson
Celtic have only lost their opening league game of a calendar year in one of the last 27 years (W20 D6), although that was away at Rangers in 2021 (1-0).
Daizen Maeda has scored three goals in his last five appearances against Rangers in all competitions, this after only netting once in his first 12 Old Firm derby appearances prior.
The moment Celtic won the League Cup
14:35 , Chris Wilson
Here’s a brief recap of the moment Celtic won the penalty shootout in the League Cup last month.
Match facts
14:30 , Chris Wilson
Rangers have only lost their first league game of a calendar year in one of the last 13 years (W10 D2), a 1-2 defeat to Kilmarnock in 2019.
Rangers’ James Tavernier and Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi both have six goals in league Old Firm derbies. Since the Scottish Premiership began in 2013, only Odsonne Édouard (seven) has netted more times in this fixture in the division.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement is yet to beat Celtic in six attempts in all competitions in charge of the club (D2 L4); the only manager to go as long or longer before winning an Old Firm derby (for either side) is William Wilton with the Gers from 1890 to 1893 (first eight).
Is Rangers v Celtic on TV?
14:25 , Chris Wilson
Kick-off is just 35 minutes away, so here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s game.
When is Rangers v Celtic?
Rangers v Celtic is due to kick off at 3pm GMT on Thursday, 2 January at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 2pm.
If you do not have a Sky Sports subscription, you can buy a NOWTV day pass.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Match facts
14:20 , Chris Wilson
Rangers have enjoyed only one win in their last 14 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D4 L9), a 3-0 league victory in May 2023 under Michael Beale.
After losing all four of their away games against Rangers in all competitions in 2021, Celtic have since lost just one of five away Old Firm derbies (W2 D2).
Celtic have scored the opening goal in nine of the last 10 league Old Firm derbies, the only exception coming when Rangers did so in May 2023 (3-0 win). The side going 1-0 up lost none of those 10 fixtures (W7 D3), with the last to do so in the Scottish Premiership being Rangers in April 2022.
Rangers v Celtic: 109 Scottish titles between them
14:12 , Chris Wilson
These two sides have won the Scottish top-flight titles a remarkable 109 times, with Rangers having won 55 and Celtic trailing behind on 54.
Celtic have won the Premiership the last three seasons in a row, with Rangers last winning in 2020/21 under Steven Gerrard. Before that, Celtic had gone on a nine-year title-winning streak, winning every season between 2011/12 and 2019/20.
The last side to win the league that wasn’t one of these two sides was Aberdeen in 1984/85, when they were managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Head-to-head
14:05 , Chris Wilson
These two sides have met 124 times in the past, with Celtic winning 58, Rangers winning 58, and 25 ending as draws.
Most recently, the two sides played out a 3-3 draw in the League Cup final in December, before Celtic won 5-4 on penalties.
In the reverse fixture in the league, Celtic won 3-0 at home in September thanks to goals from McGregor, Furuhashi and Maeda.
Philippe Clement under pressure as Rangers fall 14 points behind leaders Celtic
14:00 , Chris Wilson
A report from Rangers’ last match…
Philippe Clement insists he is too busy trying to fix ragged Rangers to think about his future at the Ibrox club.
The Gers boss was speaking after a 2-2 comeback draw against Motherwell at Fir Park saw the Light Blues fall 14 points behind Premiership leaders Celtic ahead of their meeting at Ibrox on January 2.
The Belgian was under pressure following the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at St Mirren, where he described the first-half performance as unacceptable, but the first 45 minutes against Well were equally inept as goals from Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Tawanda Maswanhise gave Stuart Kettlewell’s side a deserved interval lead.
Team news
13:40 , Chris Wilson
The line-ups should be released in the next five minutes, so here’s the early team news.
For Rangers, Thomas Lawrence is a doubt after sitting out the last few matches with a knock, while John Souttar and Neraysho Kasanwirjo are not expected back until later in the month.
Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny could make their returns to the forward line, with Nicolas Raskin likely to andhor midfield.
Celtic will be missing Odin Holm and James Forrest, but there are no new injury concerns after the win over St. Johnstone.
Rodgers will likely go with the same settled back five as he has used for much of the season, though captain Callum McGregor could return to the midfield in a deeper role.
In the forward line, the only ‘likely’ change would be Daizen Maeda coming in for Yang Hyun-Jun.
Predicted line-ups & prediction
13:30 , Chris Wilson
Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Sterling, Propper, Yilmaz; Raskin; Dowell, Diomande, Cortes; Dessers, Danilo.
Celtic XI: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Valle; Engels, Bernardo, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda.
Prediction:
All form tends to go out the window in these derbies, with the recent League Cup final between these two sides providing a 3-3 draw in normal time. With the league leaders 14 points ahead, it’s certainly hard to see them losing, though they may settle for a draw on the day.
Rangers 2-2 Celtic.
Is Rangers v Celtic on TV?
13:20 , Chris Wilson
When is Rangers v Celtic?
Rangers v Celtic is due to kick off at 3pm GMT on Thursday, 2 January at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 2pm.
If you do not have a Sky Sports subscription, you can buy a NOWTV day pass.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Rangers v Celtic LIVE
13:10 , Chris Wilson
Rangers host Celtic in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon, with the visitors looking to extend their 14-point lead at the top of the table.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have been dominant domestically so far this term, having accumulated 50 points before the New Year as well as winning the League Cup final against their old rivals earlier this month.
With much of the focus likely going into the club’s quest to qualify for the next round of the Champions League in January, a win today would go some way to potentially putting the title in their hands come May.
Rangers have struggled in recent weeks in the league, having drawn to Motherwell and lost to St Mirren in their last two matches, and Philippe Clement’s side already look like their title challenge could fail before 2025 even begins, though a win today could put them back into the fight.
Rangers v Celtic LIVE
12:55 , Jack Rathborn
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live overage of today’s Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic.
2025 begins with Celtic holding a 14-point lead over their rivals, with Rangers struggling domestically with some poor results this winter.
And we’ll have all the latest news and updates as Rangers look to claw back some ground in the Scottish title race.