Rangers v Celtic: Scottish Premiership – live!

13 mins Neither side have looked assured enough to put their stamp on the game yet, both so far happy to forfeit imagination in favour of the avoidance of early mistakes. Elhamed and Flanagan clash heads, and both hoist themselves off the turf.

11 mins It’s fierce stuff here, with both sides hunting the ball like wolves as soon as possession reaches the middle third. Scott Brown registers his first challenge of the match.

8 mins McGregor scythes down Davis in the centre circle but a good advantage sees Rangers work their way into the box with some nice one-touch stuff, but no one can quite get a shot away. Absurdly, McGregor escapes a booking.

7 mins A flash of adventure from Johnston, who wriggles into the Rangers box down the left and forces a corner. Christie’s delivery is headed away.

6 mins Still waiting for the first spell of sustained possession from either side as Christie’s mis-hit crossfield ball sails away from Bolingoli to a chorus of sadistic Ibrox cheers.

1 min The first crunching challenge comes courtesy of Jon Flanagan, and the first attempt on goal from Christie, whose long-ranger whistles over. No surprises on either count. A lively start.

And it’s a bizarre kickoff, Edouard punting it long and diagonal, rugby-style, for a Rangers throw-in in their own corner – not even attempting to find a team-mate. File under ‘maverick’.

So where might today’s game be won and lost? Certainly Rangers will need to keep close tabs on the livewire Odsonne Edouard, one of three scorers against Cluj on Thursday, especially when he peels off into the space behind the full-backs. And pulses will quicken if and when Ryan Christie, not averse to the odd wondergoal, finds a pocket of space in front of the Rangers back four.

At the other end, grizzled veteran Jermain Defoe comes into the game off the back of a hat-trick against Hibs last weekend, and the fact that Alfredo Morelos and Sheyi Ojo have six goals between them in the last two games yet both start on the bench gives some idea of the increasing depth of Rangers’ options. And then of course there’s the midfield battleground: not much tactical analysis to be applied there other than to say that teeth will be bared, tackles will fly and bones will shudder.

Some pre-match reading courtesy of our man in Scotland:

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Flanagan, Jack, Davis, Kamara, Aribo, Arfield, Defoe. Subs: Foderingham, Helander, Barisic, King, Ojo, Morelos, Jones

Celtic: Forster, Jullien, Bitton, Brown, Christie, Johnston, Edouard, Bolingoli-Mbombo, Elhamed, McGregor, Forrest. Subs: Gordon, Griffiths, Bayo, Bauer, Hayes, Morgan, Ntcham

Sixteen. The atomic number of sulphur. The voting age in Nicaragua. The number of petals on the Imperial Seal of Japan. And the average number of points by which Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership in the seven years since their great rivals were unceremoniously demoted.

And as fun as that has likely been for Glasgow’s green and white contingent, it has also meant that the watching world has been denied a title race – or anything even vaguely resembling one – for the best part of a decade. But is this the year that all changes?

It’s early days, but the signs are quietly promising. Having whittled down the gap between the two clubs from 39 points to 12 to nine over the past three seasons, Steven Gerrard’s side “welcome” Celtic to Ibrox today on roughly equal footing: with three games gone the two sides are neck and neck at the top of the table, separated only by goal difference. Rangers also prevailed in the two meetings at Ibrox last term – so it’s fair to say today’s fixture will at the very least deliver a contest worthy of the term. Rangers are back.

Bad news for Celtic, who have been eyeing that preposterous 10-in-a-row extravaganza for some time now, and have eight in the bag. But just as the outlandish is becoming tantalisingly realistic, so each step is getting a lot more difficult. Last season, Rangers gave Celtic a reminder of what it’s like to pursue the title with a bitter rival hunting you down. This time round, can Rangers finally catch their prey? This afternoon’s game will give us a good idea. Strap in!