Rangers eye second place as Celtic set pace

With the Old Firm in action on Wednesday, the Scottish Premiership table will have a familiar look if Rangers can make it four successive wins.

The Ibrox outfit host St Mirren, while Celtic travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone.

Derek McInnes' side appear to be finding their feet after dropping points in their opening two league outings and falling out of Europe.

Meanwhile, Celtic have a perfect domestic record, bouncing back from a Champions League qualifying trauma in Austria and adding an array of new faces at the end of the transfer window.

The Glasgow rivals meet at Ibrox on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, so how will they warm up for the first derby of the season?

Rangers find themselves trailing third-placed St Mirren on goal difference, following a bright start from the Paisley side.

Head coach Craig McLeish has earned plaudits for implementing a more fluid style and he was named Premiership manager of the month for August.

"I'm not surprised it's come together so quickly - I get that from the outside it might look like that," McLeish said.

"There's an internal belief about what we're doing and the work we can do on the pitch. It could have been even better and we were close to it being even better."

However, the Buddies have already been to Ibrox this season and were soundly thrashed in the Premier Sports Cup.

James Penrice enjoyed a lively Rangers debut that day, scoring one of five goals and setting up another.

The left-back has started each game since, along with central defenders Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez. While the latter is prone to the odd wobble, a settled defence has provided a platform for the recent upturn in results.

Motherwell rarely threatened at Ibrox on Saturday as Rangers spurned several good opportunities to increase their lead.

That result came after wins over Aberdeen and Falkirk. McInnes says confidence is building while admitting there is still a pressure to succeed.

"I don't think that ever lifts until you've got a trophy in your hand," he said.

"But I do think there's been a good feel about the place. What we have had in recent weeks is just small steps, encouragement, confidence levels."

The loss of Lawrence Shankland to injury just as the striker had found his shooting boots is a blow, so Kevin Kelsy may not have the luxury of easing himself into his new surroundings.

Rangers won the previous two league games against St Mirren by the odd goal but prior to that the visitors had an unbeaten streak of four in this fixture.

Celtic had to work hard for their weekend win in Paisley, with McLeish's team impressive between both boxes but lacking a killer touch.

St Mirren will be without the bite of Paul Nsio, who can't play against his parent club, and that could be telling since Rangers had the run of midfield in that cup tie last month.

Celtic were far from their flowing best on Saturday evening but got the job done after falling behind.

Yang Hyun-jun was the star man, capping an energetic display with the decisive finish, but the winger is now away with South Korea for the Asian Games.

His absence will mean a reshuffle but Martin O'Neill may be reluctant to shift Camilo Duran out wide again after a run of three goals and two assists in three games at centre-forward. If he does, on-loan Chelsea striker Shim Mheuka could make his first start.

Of the six players arriving in the final 48 hours of the window only Mheuka and Oliver Sorensen have been used from the bench so far and it could be that Sebastian Tounekti is the safe choice to replace Yang.

Striker Kasper Hogh and left-back Kieran Tierney are also in contention after brief spells out injured.

The champions can expect to face another side who focus on possession and playing through the phases as St Johnstone hunt a third win on the bounce at McDiarmid Park.

"They want to play football as well and they're committed," O'Neill said of Celtic's next opponents.

"There's a vitality about them which is very encouraging. Not dissimilar in many aspects to what Craig McLeish is doing at St Mirren."

Three of Josh Fowler's four goals have come in Perth, while local lad Taylor Steven caught the eye with his crossing from the right in victory over Hibs.

Centre-backs Cheick Diabate and Zach Mitchell are a no-nonsense pair who will put their heads where it hurts, although Saints are yet to keep a league clean sheet.

Head coach Simo Valakari admits they will need a degree of fortune to continue their impressive home form.

"We need to do our football things so well, then at the same time, we need to earn our luck, because against Celtic, if you want to beat them, you need to be a little bit lucky in some moments," the Finn said.

O'Neill was last in Perth as a manager 25 years ago but you don't have to go back very far for the most recent upset, given a home win over Celtic in April 2025 was among the rare moments of joy in a season that ended in relegation for St Johnstone.

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