Old Firm derbies are always occasions to savour, but this Sunday’s meeting could hardly be more jam-packed with narrative.
Prior to this year, both Rangers and Celtic had never previously changed managers in the same season, only for Glasgow’s big two to do so in the same month during a bonkers October.
Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation on Monday means, 20 years after departing, Martin O’Neill will be in charge of the Hoops while, in the opposition dugout at Hampden, this will be only Danny Röhl’s fourth game as Rangers boss.
The German has overseen back-to-back Premiership wins this week, beating Kilmarnock at Ibrox and then Hibs at Easter Road on Wednesday, and would truly get supporters onside with victory in this weekend’s semi-final, thereby facing either St Mirren or Motherwell in the final on 14 December.
If Röhl is going to lead the Gers to victory, he must make changes to his team victorious in Leith in mid-week, leaving out an underwhelming summer signing once compared to Neymar.
Youssef Chermiti's start to life at Rangers
Fair to say, when Rangers signed Youssef Chermiti from Everton for £8m on deadline day, potentially rising to £10m with add-ons, a few eyebrows were raised.
This makes the Portuguese under-21 international the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history, behind Tore André Flo, surpassing Ryan Kent’s post-liquidation record of £7.5m.
This is despite the fact that, during two seasons at Everton, Chermiti failed to score a single goal, making 24 appearances for the Toffees, albeit these did total a miserly 295 minutes.
The 21-year-old then scored his first senior goal for anyone since May 2023 by bagging the clinching third against Kilmarnock at Ibrox last Sunday.
This earned him the start in Edinburgh on Wednesday, but he did not impress, touching the ball only 33 times, losing possession on 13 occasions and mustering only one shot, as per Sofascore, even if his good work to set up Danilo’s goal, substituted with 13 minutes to go and replaced by Bojan Miovski.
Nevertheless, Chermiti has simply not shown enough to suggest he can cause Celtic’s back-line problems atop Mount Florida, meaning he should begin Sunday’s game among the substitutes.
He isn’t the only member of the Rangers forward line who needs to be replaced, however…
Rangers' Neymar-esque star yet to shine
When Mikey Moore arrived at Rangers this summer, he did so with a massive reputation.
Then-manager Russell Martin praised an “outstanding young player”, sporting director Kevin Thelwell asserted that he will “enhance our attacking unit”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled the “absolute top talent” as “the English Neymar”.
However, he is yet to live up to these sky-high expectations, as the table below documents.
Minutes
603
17th
Goals
Zero
15th
Assists
2
6th
Shots
10
6th
Shots on target
2
10th
Accurate passes per 90
10.5
15th
Key passes per 90
0.4
11th
Successful dribbles per 90
0.5
8th
Big chances created
Zero
9th
Average rating
6.55
15th
As the table documents, Moore is yet to make much of an impact in Glasgow, still awaiting his first goal for the club, while his two assists came against Alloa in the League Cup and Dundee United when Steven Smith was in caretaker charge a fortnight ago.
The Englishman is renowned for his creativity, dribbling and flair by those who follow Tottenham’s youth teams, but he hasn’t showcased much of that north of the border to date.
Having been introduced at half time last weekend, Moore started for the first time under Röhl in mid-week, but did not grasp this opportunity.
He registered just 39 touches in 65 minutes, completing two out of two dribbles and forcing Hibs goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger into a save, but creating no chances for others, failing to link up very much with Danilo or Chermiti, thereby replaced by Thelo Aasgaard shortly after the hour mark in Edinburgh.
As a result, former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday asserted “Moore hasn’t shown me anything that tells me that Rangers should be developing a young Spurs player rather than developing their own”.
Thus, given the importance of Sunday’s Glasgow derby, Röhl surely has better options at his disposal.
Djeidi Gassama’s five goals for the club to date will surely earn him a spot in the starting line-up, while both Oliver Antman, who has missed the last two matches due to illness, and the aforementioned Aasgaard have shown more promise since arriving.
Chalkboard
Thus, it would frankly be a surprise if either Chermiti or Moore were lining up to take on Celtic come 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, given that Rangers stand a better chance of victory with alternatives spearheading their attack.