Rangers, founded in 2012 and based at Ibrox Stadium, remain Celtic’s most familiar domestic reference point. Their recent honours are the 2021/22 Scottish Cup and the 2020/21 Premiership, part of a record that now stands at four Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups.
They finished second in the Premiership last season, with a squad valued at around £115m by Transfermarkt. The group was sizeable – 35 players, with an average age of 24 – and carried enough depth to make underperformance difficult to dress up as austerity.
At Ibrox, Rangers averaged 2.1 goals scored and 1.1 conceded per match, a home attack strong enough to keep most opponents occupied. Away from home the picture was flatter, at one goal scored and one conceded per match. They struck first inside 20 minutes in seven of 19 league matches, though their closing run was ragged: a draw at Dundee United followed a 5-2 win at Falkirk, after defeats to Hibernian, Celtic, Hearts and Motherwell.
They also reached the second round of the League Cup and the third qualifying round of the Europa League. Ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, Rangers sit as a well-resourced Premiership rival with familiar pressure attached and little need for introduction to Celtic supporters.
📈 Key stats and insights
⚔️ How they compare to Celtic
Celtic held the attacking edge over Rangers in the 2025-26 data, scoring more at home and away, with the gap especially clear outside Glasgow. Rangers were slightly tighter away defensively, conceding 1.0 per match to Celtic’s 1.4, but Celtic paired the league’s strongest attacking numbers with a better home defensive record. The final head-to-head in the form sample, Celtic’s 3-1 win, fitted the broader picture of Celtic carrying the sharper edge.
