Scottish Premiership: Rangers vs. Celtic – Kickoff at 15:00 on Thursday, January 2, 2025

Rangers captain James Tavernier has been ruled out of Thursday’s Old Firm derby with injury, a blow that will see the steadfast right-back sidelined for several weeks.

The injury comes as a heavy toll, particularly with the atmosphere heating up ahead of a clash with Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, following scan results revealing “clear damage” sustained during the gritty 2-2 draw with Motherwell.

Manager Philippe Clement, however, brings a glimmer of hope, as he suggests that centre-half Leon Balogun could make a timely return to the fold.

“James has picked up an injury,” the Belgian tactician confirmed. “We took a scan and there is clear damage and he will be out for a few weeks.”

“There is a small chance Leon Balogun can return. We will see after his individual work.”

With the Dons racing ahead with a 14-point advantage, Rangers must seize a victory to keep any flicker of hope alive in their title challenge, after Celtic ruthlessly dispatched both Motherwell and St Johnstone with 4-0 victories.

On the other side of the pitch, Celtic captain Callum McGregor is keenly aware of past encounters, including the Premier Sports Cup final where Rangers pushed them to the edge before ultimately experiencing the ecstasy of lifting the trophy in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

“We’ll have another look at the game and see where we can be better, areas we can exploit and try and cause them problems,” McGregor stated with determination.

“The important thing in cup finals is to come through it and win, then you can tidy up the little details when you arrive into the next game. I think we’ve done that since that game.”

“We want to perform better than we did in the cup final, impose ourselves on the game and perform better than we did in the final.”

“It’s a derby game; you want to win, so regardless of where you are in the table, everybody wants to win.”

More to follow.