The Scottish Premiership may already be a long way off, but Rangers are aiming to claim the Old Firm's bragging rights at the start of 2025.
It's been a tough season for Philip Clement's side, with the 2020/21 Scottish champions already 14 points behind leaders Runaways. Celtic. Few have confidence in Clement's ability to take Rangers back to the promised land, and a heavy defeat at Ibrox on Thursday could see the Belgian doomed to death.
While this match remains one of the fiercest in world football, it has been dominated by the Hoops in recent years. Rangers They have failed to win any of their previous seven meetings, and head into this derby in subpar form.
This is the team Clement could choose for the visit of Celtic to start the new year.
Goalkeeper: Jack Butland – There is no doubt about Butland's top spot heading into the new year. Butland has started 17 league games this season, logging more minutes than any Rangers player.
Right-back: Dougon Sterling – Injuries have pushed Sterling into a starting role recently, with the Englishman, who is also skilled in midfield, likely to move to right-back with James Tavernier sidelined through injury.
Centre-back: Leon King – The 20-year-old is on course for a rare start on this big occasion following an injury to Tavernier. King has not played a single minute in the league this season, but the absence of the centre-back could force Clement into action.
Centre-back: Leon Balogun – Balogun missed Sunday's draw against Motherwell after suffering a knock on Boxing Day, but Clement desperately needs to be brought back to marshal Rangers' defence.
Left-back: Ridvan Yilmaz – Yilmaz's career in Glasgow has never really taken off and he is a name to keep an eye on during the January transfer window amid reports of a potential return to Türkiye.
Name: Mohamed Diomandi – Typical of the term Clement, Diomande is a versatile agent capable of performing multiple roles. The midfielder scored in Rangers' final defeat in the Scottish League Cup in December.
CM: Nicola Raskin – The Clement native is a hard worker and never seems to stray far from the reservation. Ibrox will turn to Raskin to fire up the crowd once or twice on Thursday.
RM: Vaclav Cerny – The loanee has enjoyed a very productive loan spell so far, scoring seven goals in the Scottish Premiership. The delighted Czech joins Cyril Desires at the top of Rangers' goal contributions list this season.
Morning: Nadim Bajrami – Albania's top scorer, who scored a 23-second goal against Italy at Euro 2024, has not done much with his final third production this season, but he is a relentless player and serves a key tactical function for Clement.
LM: Janice Haji – Rangers have plenty of options in wide areas, especially after Rabbi Matondo returned from injury at the weekend, but we could see Hagi coming down the left flank to pass Alistair Johnstone.
ST: Hamza Ejmani – Igamane has great skill playing out wide, but could earn a starting place up front on Thursday given the goalscoring form he has shown in recent weeks. The 22-year-old scored twice off the bench to salvage a point against Motherwell last time out.
