Derek McInnes takes charge of his first Old Firm derby on Sunday, and he will do it in front of a crowd made up almost entirely of his own supporters. Rangers host Celtic at Ibrox at midday in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final, with no away fans present. McInnes has said he is disappointed by that. He has also said he intends to use it.
How the away end came to be empty
The SPFL confirmed that no away supporters will be admitted to Old Firm fixtures in this season's Premiership or League Cup. The immediate flashpoint was a ticket allocation row: Rangers offered Celtic 300 tickets for Sunday, Celtic challenged the figure, and the two clubs could not close the gap. Sitting behind it is the crowd trouble that spoiled a League Cup quarter-final between the same two sides back in March.
It is a grim piece of housekeeping for Scottish football's biggest fixture, and neither manager has pretended otherwise. McInnes was blunt about being disappointed. What he will not do is waste the circumstances he has been handed. An Ibrox crowd with no visiting section to answer back is an unusual weapon, and he has asked his players to feed off it rather than treat the atmosphere as background noise.
Rangers arrive in better shape than the season start suggested
The early weeks of 2026-27 were rough. Rangers failed to win any of their first four matches, then found two wins, then lost a Conference League tie to Jablonec on penalties in a result that stung badly at the time. Since then they have won four in a row. That is not a transformation, but it is momentum, and McInnes has spoken about a spirit in the group that he thinks is still growing.
The selection question everyone in Glasgow has been arguing about is whether Min-Su returns to the starting eleven for a fixture of this size. It is the kind of call that defines a new manager's first derby: pick the form player and you look decisive, pick the safe option and you look like you flinched. McInnes has generally been a pragmatist across his career, which points one way.
What is actually at stake
A League Cup quarter-final is not a season-defining match in the abstract. In this fixture, at this moment, it very much is. A Rangers win gives McInnes instant credit with a support that has been short of reasons for optimism, and it puts a trophy route in front of a squad that badly needs a target. A Celtic win kills the narrative of a Rangers revival before it gets going and reinforces a psychological edge that has already been established over several seasons.
Sunday will be strange to watch. One set of songs, one set of reactions, no away support to feed the argument. Whether that produces a raucous, one-directional Ibrox or a slightly flat one is the genuine unknown, and it may well decide the tie.
Prediction
Rangers have the crowd and the run of form. Celtic have the better squad and, historically, the better temperament in these. A tight one that goes to extra time would surprise nobody. Rangers 1-1 Celtic after ninety minutes.
Match facts: Rangers v Celtic, Scottish League Cup quarter-final, Ibrox, Sunday 13 September 2026, 12:00 kick-off. No away supporters admitted; the SPFL has barred away fans from all Old Firm Premiership and League Cup fixtures this season. Derek McInnes's first Old Firm derby as Rangers manager. Rangers have won their last four matches.
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