Rangers eye a rare double in Old Firm history
Seven days separate the two Old Firms. Last Sunday, Rangers thrashed Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals. Dan Neil scored twice either side of a Kevin Kelsy volley. This Sunday, the two clubs meet again at Celtic Park for the first league derby of the season.
The stakes are historic for Derek McInnes. Rangers have only beaten Celtic in back-to-back matches, in all competitions, twice before: in September 1960 under Scot Symon and in April 1998 under Walter Smith. McInnes can also become only the second Gers boss to win his first two Old Firms, after Graeme Souness in 1986.
The mood has flipped in a week. Before the quarter-final, the pressure was all on Rangers: five points behind in the Premiership and already out of two European qualifying campaigns. The Ibrox win changed the balance of power.
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A 13-game winning run that history says means very little
Celtic had a rough week. On Thursday, Martin O’Neill’s side opened their Europa League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Ferencvaros. Questions over their ability to handle the big games came roaring back.
The underlying data points the other way. In the 2026-27 Premiership, Celtic are improving across the board compared with O’Neill’s two caretaker spells last season: 2.33 goals per game against 2.22, 3.13 expected goals against 2.03, 22.5 shots against 16.0 and 0.5 goals conceded against 0.9.
They come in on a 13-game league winning run, a streak that started after a 2-0 defeat to Dundee United in March. It is their longest run before a league Old Firm since March 2017 and a sequence of 22 straight wins under Brendan Rodgers. One awkward detail: in the six previous times Celtic have faced Rangers in the league while on a run of at least 13 wins, they have won only twice, with one draw and three defeats. That 2017 streak also ended with a 1-1 draw against Rangers.
Six goals from 128 shots: the Gers cannot finish
Rangers have won their last four league matches after two games without a victory. Every one of them by a single goal, against Aberdeen, Falkirk, Motherwell and St Mirren.
The reason is right there in the numbers. Rangers have scored six goals from 128 shots in the Premiership this season, including one own goal. A conversion rate of 5.5%, the worst in the division.
Celtic have another edge. Five of their six home league goals have come in the first half, the only other one scored by Benjamin Nygren against Dundee on Matchday 1. The atmosphere matters too: away fans are banned from all Old Firms this season.
Opta’s supercomputer gives Celtic a 49.9% chance of victory, Rangers 24.8% and the draw 25.3%. Over the full season, Celtic are favoured to win the title at 75.4%, with Rangers on 10.0%.
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