Celtic Prepare for Ibrox Derby Showdown

The first derby of the season is coming fast, and Celtic know exactly what awaits them.

On Sunday at noon, they walk into Ibrox for a League Cup quarter-final that offers no warm-up period, no time to settle. It is straight into the fire.

At Lennoxtown on Friday morning, there was no hint of it being “just” a cup tie. Training carried the bite of a fixture that shapes moods and headlines for weeks. Players moved through drills with a clear purpose: protect a perfect domestic record and land the first blow of the campaign in Glasgow’s defining rivalry.

Celtic arrive in this quarter-final with a 100 per cent run in domestic competition this term, and that streak hangs over the build-up like a challenge. Keep going. Prove it holds under derby pressure, in a stadium that will demand every ounce of composure.

The session reflected that. High tempo. Sharp touches. Quick combinations. Staff driving standards from the touchline as the squad tuned themselves for the intensity Ibrox guarantees. No one needed reminding what’s at stake: a place in the last four of the League Cup, and the psychological edge that comes with winning the season’s first meeting between Rangers and Celtic.

Sunday’s fixture is locked in: Rangers vs. Celtic, Ibrox, September 13, 2026, with a 12:00 kick-off.

The stage is set. Now it’s about who handles the noise, the pressure, and the moment when the whistle goes and there is nowhere left to hide.