In the final Old Firm derby of the season, Rangers are set to host newly-crowned Scottish Premiership champions Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts and visitors have already secured their second and first-placed finishes, leaving only pride and bragging rights on the line.
Match preview
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Rangers, having already confirmed their second-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership, only aim to dampen Celtic's title celebrations and end their worrying five-game winless streak on Sunday.
With only four games remaining in the Scottish Premiership, the Gers sit comfortably 14 points ahead of third-placed Hibernian but a significant 17 behind their Glasgow rivals, marking a disappointing campaign that saw Celtic draw level with Rangers' record of 55 top-flight league titles.
It has been an underwhelming season as a whole for the Gers, marked by their worst start to a Scottish Premiership season after 12 matches - with seven wins, two draws and three defeats - which saw them fall significantly behind Celtic, a gap they were never able to close.
Rangers also suffered a heartbreaking penalty defeat to the Bhoys in the Scottish League Cup final, while they shockingly crashed out of the Scottish FA Cup with a fifth round loss to Queen's Park - the first time in their 153-year history that Rangers have lost a home tie in the Scottish Cup against a lower division side.
That defeat marked the beginning of the end for Philippe Clement, who was sacked just two games later following a 2-0 loss to St Mirren, with Barry Ferguson taking charge until the end of the season.
Ferguson's tenure has shown signs of promise, including a penalty victory against Fenerbahce in the Europa League round of 16, but the Gers have taken a downturn in recent outings, suffering elimination from Europe by Athletic Bilbao and also failing to win any of their last five games.
The Gers will be hopeful of ending that streak against their Old Firm rivals on Sunday, with Ferguson eager to impress as he strives to be appointed permanently, while Rangers also look to lay a strong foundation for next season, when they will aim to break Celtic's run of four consecutive title triumphs.
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Celtic will be in a celebratory mood when they visit Ibrox on Sunday, having equalled Rangers' 55 top-flight league titles in style, defeating Dundee United 5-0 to claim the trophy.
In truth, it was a matter of when, not if, for Celtic to lift the title from an extremely early point in the season, as the Bhoys surged ahead of the pack after Aberdeen's decline from matchday 12 onwards.
Brendan Rodgers's side remained undefeated in the opening 18 matchdays of the Scottish Premiership, finally falling at the hands of Rangers in a 3-0 defeat in January, and they have suffered just three more league losses in the 16 fixtures since.
All three of those defeats rather disappointingly came in the final seven pre-split fixtures, meaning their title celebrations were delayed until the opening match of the post-split season, but it has certainly been an overall success of a campaign.
Celtic are still in contention to record a magnificent sixth domestic treble in the last nine seasons, having already lifted the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Premiership title, leaving just a final matchup with Aberdeen at the end of the month in the Scottish FA Cup.
The Bhoys will want to enter that final with as much positive momentum as possible, meaning they will be eager to continue their current run of scoring five goals in each of their last three games, with 5-1 and back-to-back 5-0 victories.
Despite their domestic dominance this term, Celtic have split results against the Gers, recording two victories and two defeats - including losses in each of their last two meetings - though they did claim the win in the most important of those meetings, the Scottish League Cup final.
Team News
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Dujon Sterling and Ridvan Yilmaz have both been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while Findlay Curtis, Leon Balogun, Roger Fernandes, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Tom Lawrence are not likely to feature on Sunday due to injury issues.
Ross McCausland is back available for selection after serving his one-game suspension for the red card against Aberdeen, but the 21-year-old is likely to start on the bench.
Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane could continue their partnership in attack as Ferguson opts for a 3-5-2 system, with John Souttar, Robin Propper and Clinton Nsiala in defence.
For Celtic, Kasper Schmeichel will continue on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury, meaning Viljami Sinisalo will retain his place between the sticks, while Hyun-Jun Yang is also ruled out.
Jota is also a doubt for the Bhoys after the winger was forced off just 35 minutes into the 5-0 victory over Dundee Utd, meaning a front three of Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda should start.
Elsewhere, the remainder of the side that has achieved back-to-back 5-0 victories is expected to start on Sunday, with Rodgers aiming to maintain their strong momentum.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Souttar, Propper, Nsiala; Tavernier, Raskin, Rice, Jefte; Diomande; Dessers, Igamane
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Sinisalo; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Idah, Maeda
We say: Rangers 1-3 Celtic
Rangers will be eager to dampen Celtic's title celebrations, and they have reason to be confident given they have triumphed in the last two Old Firms.
However, Celtic are in sensational form, having scored 15 goals in their last three games, and the Bhoys will be aiming to secure a derby day victory befitting of their recent title triumph, leading us to expect an away win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
