Celtic caretaker manager Martin O'Neill tells BBC Scotland: "It is really strange as it was not the week I had planned.

"There are some players I would know about and some who I would know very little, but I have a good staff behind me and Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus know all about them.

"It is going to be very tight. There's that old adage about form going out of the window, but Rangers are hitting some form, the manager has got them running again and they had a big victory in midweek.

"They are prepared for the game and I am sure we are.

"I don't know what is going to happen in the future, but I can only deal with today."

Given his time away, Martin O'Neill will be relying on coaches Shaun Maloney and Stephen McManus for information on the opposition - and the Celtic squad.

Danny Rohl may be new to Scottish football but the great detail in which he spoke of Hibs the other night suggests the German does a lot of homework and has probably not found much time for sight-seeing in Glasgow.

If it goes to penalties this time, Rangers might just be licking their lips.

Jack Butland saved a late spot-kick in Wednesday's 1-0 win at Easter Road.

That means he's stopped six of the past seven penalties he's faced, which is absolutely outrageous.

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The last meeting at Hampden was an altogether different story.

It came in the final of this competition last season and was a real thriller, with the teams locked at 3-3 at the end of extra-time.

Rangers defender Ridvan Yilmaz was the only player to miss in the shootout, with his strike saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

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Not a lot...

The last derby was one of the worst ever.

A goalless bore at Ibrox on 31 August, with just two tame efforts on target.

Billy Dodds
Former Rangers striker on BBC Sportsound

If Martin O'Neill wins this, why would he walk away from Celtic?

Danny Rohl is the fourth manager to lead Rangers into an Old Firm game this year - after Russell Martin, Barry Ferguson and Philippe Clement.

In his first spell, Martin O'Neill won 16 of his 27 Old Firm fixtures, drawing three and losing eight.

However, there was just one victory from his four previous Hampden meetings with Rangers and there was just one League Cup success over his initial five-year stint at Celtic Park.

Danny Rohl was just 11 in August 2000 when Martin O'Neill took charge of Celtic against Rangers for the first time.

O'Neill enjoyed a 6-2 victory as doubles for Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson stunned Dick Advocaat's side.

Celtic would go on to clinch a treble and haven't really looked back.

Having collected a mere three major trophies in the 1990s, Celtic have won 19 out of 25 titles and 23 cup competitions since O'Neill first stint.

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Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer on Sportsound

All season long, these clubs have been basket cases, full of internal strife and external noise. It's been ugly.

Celtic have won 53% of all games. Desperately poor, but at least Martin O'Neill improved matters a tad.

Rangers have won 33% of their games. Hopeless, but getting better under Danny Rohl, who has tweaked his formation, going three at the back with more tempo in the team.

Read more from Tom English here.

Explaining his prior emotions around this fixture at Friday's media conference, Martin O'Neill said: "Just a nervousness for about 72 hours before, and then if you got the result, a great relief.

"And I think that's what the great Walter Smith used to say about it as well, that it was relief more than anything else. But they were fantastic fixtures really. It's still a fantastic fixture."

When asked if he felt different this time around, he replied: "Absolutely not. No, no, worse."

Danny Rohl has experience of Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund while he was assistant manager in Bavaria, while there were derbies against city rivals Sheffield United during his time in charge of Wednesday.

"I know what it means for the fans," he said on Friday. "This is more than just a game."

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

I'm not surprised at Maeda coming into the team.

The only question is that he is playing on the right-hand side and that's not the side he favours.

James Tavernier will have his work cut out against Tounekti and Saracchi backing him up on the other side.

St Mirren await the winners on 14 December after demolishing Motherwell on Saturday.

Mikael Mandron scored twice in their 4-1 victory as two late goals snuffed out any thoughts of a comeback from 'Well.

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Connor Barron is suspended, so Mohamed Diomande steps into central midfield for Rangers.

James Tavernier returns to the starting line-up after getting a bit of rest in the 1-0 win over Hibs and Thelo Aasgaard returns, with Max Aarons and Mikey Moore dropping to the bench.

Danilo and Youssef Chermiti continue up front.

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Having appeared as a second-half substitute on Wednesday, Daizen Maeda starts for Celtic, taking over from James Forrest.

Johnny Kenny continues to lead the line after his double against Falkirk.

Kieran Tierney is fit enough for a place on the bench.

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This is a first taste of the Old Firm rivalry for Rangers boss Danny Rohl.

The 36-year-old German has yet to manage 100 games.

At 73, Martin O'Neill has close to 1000 matches under his belt as a manager, while this is his 28th derby experience.

Rohl is ahead in matches with his new team since this is his fourth outing, while O'Neill is just in the door after Brendan Rodgers' shock departure.

He was in charge for Wednesday's 4-0 win over Falkirk, having last been in the dugout with Nottingham Forest in June 2019.

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Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi, McGregor, Engels, Nygren, Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti.

Substitutes: Sinisalo, Yang, McCowan, Osmond, Hatate, Murray, Balikwisha, Forrest, Tierney.

Rangers: Butland, Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius, Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma, Aasgaard, Danilo, Chermiti.

Substitutes: Kelly, Aarons, Fernandez, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.

There's always plenty to talk about when the Old Firm meet in a semi-final, but this one has all sorts of extras going on.

Both sides have changed managers since the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup, which speaks to the turmoil in each camp.

Celtic have turned to a veteran with legendary status at the club, while Rangers went in the opposite direction with a young aspirant, with no prior connection.

Neither team has been in great form this season but they dominate the Scottish football landscape, winning this competition 19 times between them in the past 25 years.

Could this derby have a major say in the direction of travel for the rest of the campaign? That's maybe pushing it, but we will have a winner and that side will be feeling a whole lot better than the other.

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