Rangers, founded in 2012 and based at Ibrox Stadium, remain the fixture on Celtic’s domestic horizon that needs the least explanation. Their recent honours are modest by their own measure: the 2021/22 Scottish Cup followed the 2020/21 Premiership, forming part of a record that stands at four Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups.
The current squad is sizeable, with 35 players and an average age of 24. Transfermarkt puts its market value at around £114.5m, which underlines the scale of the resources, if not always the clarity of the results.
Their 2026/27 league start has been uneven. After three Premiership matches, Rangers are seventh with four points, while recent league form has mixed a 1-0 win at Aberdeen and a 5-2 win at Falkirk with defeats to Hibernian and Celtic. At Ibrox they have averaged one goal scored and two conceded per match; away from home, one scored and 0.5 conceded.
Ryan Naderi and Lawrence Shankland have led the scoring with two goals each, while Thelo Aasgaard, Vanja Dragojević and Djeidi Gassama have also contributed. They have struck first inside 20 minutes in six of 19 league matches, a useful habit in outline, though not one that has yet translated into authority.
The season has also taken them through a League Cup quarter-final, the third qualifying round of the Europa League and the Conference League play-off round. For Celtic supporters, Rangers’ relevance is unchanged: a well-funded rival at Ibrox, currently short of fluency but still central to the Premiership picture.
📈 Key stats and insights
⚔️ How they compare to Celtic
Compared with Celtic, Rangers are clearly behind on attacking firepower and home defence: Celtic lead the table and score far more, particularly away, while keeping their home goal line intact; Rangers' only comparative edge is a sturdier away defensive profile, but overall Celtic have the decisive advantage in both goalscoring and protecting their own goal.
