Celtic Derby Preparations for Ibrox Showdown

The first derby of the season is coming fast, and Celtic know it. Sunday at Ibrox. Noon kick-off. League Cup quarter-final. No easing into this one.

By Friday morning at Lennoxtown, the mood had shifted firmly from early-season rhythm to derby sharpness. The squad worked through their final preparations with one clear target: protect a flawless domestic record and carry it into the most hostile venue they will face all campaign.

This is no gentle cup tie. A place in the last four is at stake, but the fixture carries far more than that. A first meeting with Rangers this season, away from home, wrapped in all the noise and pressure that comes with it. For a Celtic side yet to drop a point domestically, it is both a test and an opportunity.

Training reflected that edge. Sessions were intense, focused, designed to fine-tune rather than experiment. The coaching staff pushed tempo and detail, knowing that in a derby, small margins decide everything: a loose touch, a late tackle, a moment of hesitation under the roar from the stands.

Celtic’s perfect start in domestic competition has built confidence, but Ibrox will ask different questions. Can they impose their game in that atmosphere? Can they stay calm when the tackles bite and the rhythm breaks? Can a 100 per cent record survive the first real furnace of the season?

On Sunday, those answers arrive. Rangers vs Celtic. League Cup quarter-final. A flawless start on the line, and the first real marker of what this Celtic season might become.