Celtic seek spark as Rangers aim for further derby joy

Derek McInnes and Martin O'Neill face each other for the second time in a week in the Scottish Premiership clash on Sunday [SNS] Celtic and Rangers square up again in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday with the champions reeling after a 3-0 defeat to the Ibrox side in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals last weekend and an opening Europa League 3-1 loss to Ferencvaros. Pressure is intensifying on Martin O'Neill's following those disappointing displays and yet Celtic have the chance to move eight points clear of their rivals. A third loss in a row for Celtic would leave Rangers just two points adrift. "We're ready to go, we really are," O'Neill said. "We're getting prepared for the game. It was a difficult game last Sunday and difficult last night, but we're ready to go. "Confidence, we're far from rock-bottom. We're still in the lead in the league. If we can win this, we can extend the lead. If we don't, going into the international break, we're still going to be in front. "It's not the thing that you would look forward to going into an international break on three successive defeats, if that's the case. "We've got to be a bit more inventive but the crowd will be up for this. The players are capable of turning it around." There were questions over whether recent signings fully grasped the occasion in the loss at Ibrox, with a number of new arrivals struggling to make an impact in high profile games. "It will probably take a little bit more time, but I think anybody who experienced last Sunday, to know what it's all about, it shouldn't need many more lessons," O'Neill explained. Leaden, stale, disheartening - where do Celtic & O'Neill go from here? Celtic are 'little bit broken' - but is change of shape 'worth risking'? McInnes delivers togetherness & intensity in Old Firm gobsmacker Momentum appears to be with Rangers given their comprehensive derby victory, making it five successive wins with four clean sheets. Manager Derek McInnes downplayed the absence of away fans as "overhyped" but acknowledged how quickly the narrative can change in the Glasgow rivalry. "I think you're constantly aware of that at a club like Rangers," he said. "You're only one bad result away from getting a belt in the mouth again. You've got to try and keep those to a minimum, as much as you can. "We've worked hard to get to where we are at the minute but equally, you've got to remind yourself, it wasn't so long ago that we were in a tough spot. "We had a big result last week and a big performance but we want to try and deliver that again on Sunday. "I don't think we can win the game without that. Don't think that we can just turn up and everything's going to become easy for you. You've got to work for everything you get. We'll need that a bit more, to be honest [than the home performance against Celtic]." Team news O'Neill confirmed that they will have to assess one or two players who came off during the defeat to Ferencvaros. Yang Hyun-Jun remains on international duty with South Korea with the manager non-committal as to whether he may adopt a change in shape to accommodate Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran up front. Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand remain sidelined with injury. Rangers may be without striker Ryan Naderi, who suffered an ankle injury in the win over Celtic after a challenge from Mika Baur. The club has contacted Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum to ask why no further punishment was administered. One unnamed player is also a doubt for the visitors, while left-back Tuur Roomens has returned to training after injury. Pick of the Old Firm stats Celtic's 3-1 win over Rangers in May ended a six-game winless run in league Old Firm derbies (D3 L3). The Hoops have won six of their past eight home games against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership (L2) After a 3-0 victory in the League Cup last weekend, Derek McInnes could become only the second Rangers manager to win both of his first two Old Firm derbies, after Graeme Souness in 1986 Celtic are looking to win 14+ consecutive league matches for the first time since March 2017 under Brendan Rodgers (22), a run that ended with a 1-1 home draw with Rangers. Rangers have scored seven goals from 128 shots in the Premiership this season, a conversion rate of 5.5% - the lowest in the division. Five of Celtic's six home league goals this season have come in the first half of matches, with their only second-half strike at Celtic Park coming from Benjamin Nygren against Dundee on matchday one. Rangers have used more players (26) and made the joint-most starting XI changes (18) of any side in the top flight. Visit our Celtic page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Get Celtic news notifications in the BBC Sport app