for celticsit is no longer enough just to stay ahead of Rangers, the 2025/26 season has already produced exciting results Premier League In the championship battle, following the appearance of a surprise package of hearts.

Parkhead have seemed content to simply outdo their opponents in recent years, with standards and the quality of their signings slipping during Brendan Rodgers’ second spell in charge.

Now, a new contender has entered the field and with the Glasgow duo still so inconsistent, the title looks set to head to Edinburgh for the first time in decades.

Derby is no longer the decisive game in the race for the league title, with Derek McInnes’ side having ensured that, although Sunday’s game at Ibrox still feels like an ‘old’ meeting that matters more than ever.

A win is vital for both sides in order to stay in contention and Martin O’Neill could be helping Celtic’s cause by keeping the win going Kasper Schmeichel Restrained to a bench.

Why Kasper Schmeichel must start as substitute against Rangers

From a Celtic perspective, allowing Schmeichel to score this weekend was almost like going into the game with one arm tied behind his back.

That’s both metaphorical and literal, given the Danes’ recent form, which has looked extremely uncomfortable in recent weeks and months.

Injured or not, the 39-year-old has often been at the scene of the crime and only recently endured a horror performance in the first leg against Stuttgart while failing to keep out Joe Hugill’s header in a narrow 3-2 win over Kilmarnock.

However, it would be wrong to say that the former Leicester City man has only become an issue recently, as his performance in the latest derby under Wilfrid Nancy was truly concerning.

Indeed, the experienced goalkeeper made mistakes in both the Gers’ second and third games of the day, first failing to stop Yusef Cermiti’s shot despite taking a toe-toe touch, while tamely swooping down the right in an attempt to deny youngster Mickey Moore to seal victory.

Schmeichel has survived since then, despite William Sinissara seizes opportunity Hands, if you’ll pardon the pun, O’Neill will need to give the 24-year-old the nod this time in Thursday’s Europa League second leg.

That recent 1-0 win was a useful exercise for the Hoops boss to shuffle the cards, with the performance and results needed to factor into his thinking ahead of the weekend.

The January arrival will need to join Schmeichel on the bench on Sunday

Auston Trusty was one of three players to retain their place after winning at the weekend, with the club ignoring complaints about the sacking of American player Hibernian.

With Cameron Carter-Vickers now out for the next three league games, O’Neill must now find a suitable partner for Liam Scales, with the Republic of Ireland star rested in midweek.

Given that he had to miss the trip to Stuttgart and was left out of the Europa League squad, youngster Benjamin Arthur could be a candidate to feature at Ibrox, having also come on as a substitute after Trusty picked up a red card against Hibs.

The 20-year-old Brentford loanee has been patiently waiting for his chance and the Parkhead faithful will no doubt be keen to see him feature more regularly, especially given he has already been described as “young Virgil van Dijk“.

O’Neill and Celtic need to exploit him or risk a repeat of Jamais Simpson-Poussey, but is Derby really the right game to feature him in?

The youngster only made three appearances for the Bees before moving to Glasgow and his teammates are better and more experienced than him in such a high-pressure game.

His playing time is likely to come in the coming weeks and months, but judging from Thursday’s game in Germany, Dane Murray should be named alongside Liam Scales, with the 22-year-old crucial to keeping a trustworthy clean sheet.

Taking Murray as an example, his tackle success rate and aerial battle success rate were 100% that night, and he also completed 8 clearances, including an important goal-line intervention.

To his credit, after the Hearts disaster earlier in the season, the young Scot appears to have shaken off the situation, securing a place at centre-back which he may now be losing.

Arthur, while regarded as a genuine talent, should not be part of the starting XI in such a decisive game of the season. O’Neill can’t afford to take risks now and the Englishman – along with Schmeichel – could well represent that.

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