The Full Scottish
Served by Brian P. Dunleavy
Both Celtic and Rangers head into this Sunday’s Glasgow derby desperately needing a win to save what remains of their respective seasons.
In other words, a fixture that is already tense and hugely significant for both sets of supporters will be even more so.
Both sides dropped points last week, Celtic losing in disappointing fashion to Hibs at home and ’Gers rescuing a 2-2 draw at Premiership bottom-feeders Livi.
And, both have seen their European dreams for the season crushed, with the Ibrox side crashing out of the Europa League with just four points from eight matches and the Hoops essentially playing out the string against Stuttgart in the playoff round.
With the League Cup done and dusted, with neither of Glasgow’s big two holding the trophy (here’s to you, St. Mirren!), all attention is now on the league—and potential European places for 2026-27—and the Scottish Cup, the latter of which brings with it Europa League qualification.
And, for both, the next week will be crucial. Celtic visit Ibrox in the league this Sunday and then, following a mid-week visit to Aberdeen, return to Govan in the Scottish Cup.
These are truly zero-sum games, of course. Would either side settle for the league or the cup in what has been a difficult campaign for both? Perhaps, though neither are likely to admit it any time soon.
That Celtic head into the first derby on a poor run of form and, thanks to Auston Trusty’s red-card suspension, with a central defender pairing of Liam Scales and Benjamin Arthur, the latter of whom has played all of 10 minutes for the Hoops, hardly bodes well.
That we’re heading into March with the possibility that neither Celtic nor Rangers will win the Premiership (for the first time since 1984-85) and that both could end the season trophy-less for the first time since the 1950s is—forgive the hyperbole—incredible.
But here we are. Which is why the next week or so matters so much.
And when derbies matter, things in Glasgow are never dull.