Celtic vs Rangers: Head-To-Head Record & Stats | OneFootball

Who’s the true ruler of Glasgow?

After a 1-0 loss in the Scottish Cup semi-final last month, Rangers once again host Celtic at Ibrox this Saturday. The two Scottish powerhouses have locked arms 435 times in major competitions since 1890. So, we thought we'd take a look at how they compare.

Recent Green Dominance

Celtic have already won the Scottish Premiership this season after Ange Postecoglou led his team to back-to-back titles. However, this won’t take the sting out of this weekend’s derby. A win in this match-up is practically a championship in itself!

GiveMeSport VIDEO OF THE DAY

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

Apart from when Steven Gerrard led Rangers to a title win in the 2020/21 season, Celtic have dominated the Premiership every year since 2011/12. Before this, both clubs would compete heavily for the top spot, with the last non-Glasgow team to finish first place being Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen back in 1984/85.

With their long-lasting rivalry, Rangers will be looking to spoil Celtic’s party with a win during the upcoming fixture. Despite Celtic's confidence, Rangers will be fancying themselves. After all, they do have the best head-to-head record in the league.

Old Firm Head-To-Head Record

According to the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) Rangers have won 126 league matches against Celtic compared to the latter's 114. Of the 330 league fixtures since 1891, 90 ended in a draw.

However, Celtic have more head-to-head Scottish Cup wins, with 26 to their name. Rangers only have 18, while 10 of the 54 matches ended in a draw. The first competitive game between the two was a Scottish Cup match in 1890.

The first League Cup fixture between the pair took place in 1947. Since then, 51 games have been played and Celtic have just about won more. The Bhoys have won 25 of the fixtures, while the Gers came out on top 24 times. Only two of the 51 matches were tied.

The full breakdown of matches in major competitions is as follows:

As we can see, Rangers edge Celtic in all-time results. Those three extra wins will be enough to claim the bragging rights.

The two clubs have, of course, played each other in several other minor competitions. Most notably, the Glasgow Cup ran for around a century before going through a series of reshuffles since the late 1980s.

In its initial format between 1887 and 1989, Rangers won 36 of the 79 Glasgow Cup games. Celtic was victorious in 23 matches while there were 20 draws. The Old Firm clubs now primarily field B-team players in the competition.

Diving Deeper

Celtic have had the largest Old Firm win. They defeated Rangers 7-1 on October 19th, 1957 in the League Cup.

Nonetheless, the highest goalscorer in all games is a Rangers player. The one and only Ally McCoist scored 27 times in his 55 appearances in the derby. The Celtic player with the most goals is Jimmy McGrory. He found the back of the net 22 times in 35 appearances.

McCoist would soon find himself in the dugout Rangers. He was at the helm between June 2011 and December 2014 after being assistant manager from January 2007. He finished his first Old Firm game as manager with a 4-2 home win.

When it comes to overall managerial records, Celtic's Brendan Rodgers has the highest win percentage for managers that appeared in a minimum of 10 old firm games. He won 77% of his 13 games between 2016 and 2019. His former Liverpool counterpart Gerrard is in second place, winning 62% of his Old Firm games as Rangers boss between 2018 and 2021.

Plenty of Silverware

Now that we have the results out of the way, how about the trophies?

Concerning top-flight championships, whether the Scottish Football League, Scottish Premier League, or Scottish Premiership, the margin is thin. Despite being the top dog of Scottish football for most of the last decade, Celtic's 53 titles are pipped by Rangers' 55.

Rangers also have more League Cups, with 27 compared to Celtic's 21. However, Celtic hold six more Scottish Cups than their neighbours.

On the continental stage, Rangers have a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. It won the trophy in 1972 before the tournament was eventually abolished in 1999. Meanwhile, Celtic have achieved the cream of the crop. It won the European Cup in 1967, becoming the first British team to put their name on the trophy. Manchester United would follow a year later to become the first English team to lift the prize.

Additionally, Celtic became the first team ever to win the Treble with their European success. Manchester United would also become the first English team with this accolade in 1999.

Tallying the numbers, Rangers have 117 major honours compared to Celtic's 115. Thus, Rangers have two more pieces of Silverware over their rivals!

The Celtic Park faithful will be quick to note that the Cup Winners’ Cup is miles behind European Cup in terms of prestige. Still, taking this into account, Rangers have more trophies, including league titles.

Bigger Than Football

For well over a century, the Old Firm represents a rivalry that’s more significant than what can be seen on the pitch. It’s part of a culture that, for many, is deeply rooted in the soul of Glasgow. Therefore, we can expect plenty of excitement ahead of the big match on Saturday as the fans of the two clubs look to finish the long season on a high.

One thing for sure is that the atmosphere at the ground will be electric, with Glaswegians in both sets of colours in full voice. It’s set to be a cracker!

Rangers will go into the game knowing that they have a better head-to-head record and more trophies than Celtic. However, it won’t be a surprise to see Parkhead house more total trophies than the Ibrox soon. Celtic are on course to win the domestic treble. They will face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in June’s Scottish Cup final.