Hoops Head to Hampden
for Cup Derby
~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~


The Hoops' Benjamin Nygren in action when these sides last met at Ipox back in August


Hampden Park, Glasgow
Sunday, 2 November 2025
14.00 GMT

The Hoops are looking to secure a place in next month's League Cup Final when they take on their southside city rivals, Sevco, at the National Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Club has been attracting headlines all this week, and not all for the best of reasons. The news of Brendan Rodgers' resignation, the response by major shareholder Dermott Desmond, and the return of legendary gaffer, Martin O'Neill after 20 years (albeit on an interum basis) all sent shockwaves through both the Celtic and wider communities.

With Rodgers gone, it was the return of O'Neill that undoubtedly helped lift the mood inside of Paradise on Wednesday, with both the atmosphere created by the fans and the recent anxiety that has appeared to cripple the team in recent months replaced with a restored sense of confidence, producing a much more dynamic and pacey, free flowing display by the Bhoys in the 4-0 win against Falkirk on Wednesday.

It was a promising start, and while the 73y.o. Irishman's appointment is termporary while the Club conducts it's process to identify and secure a new manager, it felt like a seachange of positivity after what has been a stuttering and stifled campaign to date.


Martin O'Neill's return to Celtic helped spark the Hoops' best League performance of the eeason so far

The Trend That Needs to End

It is not unfair to say that Celtic are coming into this game as something of an underdog. It is not a status that Celtic have often had to be considered over the past 15 years, especially domestically, such has been the pronounced slide over the past year that it is hard to argue.

The Hoops were fortunate to get their hands on the League Cup last season, when the Final finished 3-3, requiring the lottery of apotkicks to ultimately claim the silverware.

Since then however, performances have only varied from the disappointing to the dire, the dismal, the dreadful and the drab with 3 draws and 2 defeats, including when these sides played out one of the most listless and dull 0-0 derbies ever, back in August.

These games are often seen as a yardstick, yet in 2025 under Rodgers they had become a stick of a different sort, and measured only how predictable, stale and insipid the football had become. Even with Sevco managerial merry-go-round, the former manager was unable to get the better of any of them.

With just one game played and less than a week working with the players, it will be fascinating to see what sort of effort O'Neill can inspire from the team, as they look to change their fortunes in this fixture on Sunday.


Johnny Kenny scored twice in the 4-0 win against Falkirk in midweek

While the happenings at Parkhead have been dominating the headlines over the past week, on the other side of the divide there has been no shortage of drama since the last time these sides met also, having gone through their latest circus sideshow.

It means that both teams are coming into this game under new direction from the previous encounter just 62 days ago, with Sevco now under the guidance of their 4th manager this year in Danny Rohl.

So far they have won both of their League games since he took over, including a narrow 1-0 win against Hibs at Easter Road on Wednesday. It was their first cleansheet away from Ipox since December 2024.​

Any time these sides square off is hotly anticipated, and that will absolutely be the case this weekend. The upheavals and relative form of both teams make it hard to predict and should mean both will feel as though they can win this game.

Add to that the prize on offer, and it could be the making of a classic!



Stats and Facts​

• Celtic will be looking to get back to winning ways against Sevco, with just 3 wins in the past 9 meetings overall, and have not won any of these derby clashes in over a year.

• However, the Hoops have never lost a League Cup encounter against Sevco since they were founded in 2012.

• On each of the past 7 times when Celtic have reached the Semi-Final stage of the competition, they have gone on to lift the League Cup.

• The Ipox club recorded their first cleansheet in 25 'Away' games, dating back to December 2024, in the 1-0 win against Hibernian at Easter Road on Wednesday.

Daizen Maeda made a return from off the bench against Falkirk and be available for Sunday

Team News

Celtic will be without Jota (ACL), Cameron Carter-Vickers (achilles) and Alistair Johnston (hamstring), however Kelechi Iheanacho have resumed training, but will need to be further assessed before a final decision is made regarding this match.

Elsewhere, Daizen Maeda made a welcome return from off the bench during the win against Falkirk, but it remains to be seen if he will be restricted in how long he will be able to play as he works back to full fitness, while Kieran Tierney should also be available for selection, having shaken off the 'stiffness' issues that saw him sitting out the Falkirk match in midweek.

As for the Govan side, they will likely be without long term absentee due Dujon Sterling (achilles), although he returned to training this past week, as well as Rabbi Matondo (knee). Cannor Barron is also ruled out through suspension for this match.​

Referee: Nick Walsh

The highly rated 34y.o. has been appointed to 31 League Cup matches in his career, including 5 Semi-Finals and the 2022/23 League Cup Final. This is the 6tb time he will be officiating a match between these sides in total.

Overall Record
M:42 W:35 D:6 L:1

VAR: Steven McLean



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P:47 W:25 D:10 L:12

Last 5 Meetings
D D L L D

~~~~ 2025/26 Form ~~~~

All Comps
W L W L W ~ L D L W L ​