Rangers, founded in 2012 and based at Ibrox Stadium, remain Celtic’s most obvious domestic rival. The current squad is sizeable – 33 players with an average age of 24 – and is valued at around £114.5m by Transfermarkt.
Their recent honours give the modern club its shape: a Scottish Cup in 2021/2022 and a Premiership title in 2020/2021. In total, they have four Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups, enough to give the fixture its usual edge without requiring much embroidery.
This season has begun with Rangers second in the Premiership on 13 points after six of 38 rounds, with 27 still to play. Their league form has sharpened: four straight wins, including 1-0 victories over St Mirren, Motherwell and Aberdeen, followed an earlier defeat to Hibernian and a draw at Dundee United.
The numbers point to a side built on control rather than excess. At home they average one goal scored and 0.7 conceded, while away they sit at 1.3 scored and 0.7 conceded. Lawrence Shankland leads their scoring with four goals, ahead of Ryan Naderi on three, and they have struck inside the first 20 minutes in eight of 20 league matches.
Their season has also taken in a League Cup quarter-final, the third qualifying round of the Europa League and the play-off round of Conference League qualifying. For Celtic supporters, the relevance is plain: Rangers are second, defensively tight, and still close enough to matter.
📈 Key stats and insights
⚔️ How they compare to Celtic
Against Celtic, Rangers can match the champions more comfortably in defence than in attack — Celtic lead the division and score at a far higher rate while conceding less at home, so Rangers' compact defensive profile keeps them competitive but Celtic have a clear edge in forward threat and goal output.
