Rangers gear up for the first Glasgow derby of this season, as Derek McInnes' men take on Celtic in the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup at Ibrox this afternoon.

Despite having home advantage in the knock-out fixture, the Gers will be the game as underdogs, given the Celts' brilliant form in domestic football so far.

Today's game is already a knock-out in nature, so it could be the one in the Premiership as the Gers are already five points behind the Celts in the league table and failure to win at Parkhead next weekend could already put a question mark on McInnes' future with the Light Blues.

The Gers will be without the services of three of their top attacking options as Youssef Chermiti, Lawrence Shankland and Daisuke Yokota will all miss tomorrow's crucial fixture at Ibrox due to their long-term injury problems.

While summer acquisition Kosta Nedeljkovic remains a doubt after missing two back-to-back league fixtures against Motherwell and St Mirren.

The Celts will also miss some of their important players, as the likes of Callum Osmand, Alistair Johnston, Yang Hyun-jun and latest summer signing Landon Emenalo will be out for today's pivotal game.

GK- Ivor Pandur: The Croatian shot-stopper is expected to be guarding the Gers' goal tonight as McInnes' undisputed starter.

RB- Dujon Sterling: Following back-to-back brilliant displays for the Light Blues recently, the 26-year-old has made the right-back position his own this campaign.

CB- Olwethu Makhanya: The South African international has already impressed the Ibrox faithful since joining the Gers this summer, but tonight the sturdy center-back will be put to the test tonight against a high-flying Celtic attack.

CB- Emmanuel Fernandez: The 25-year-old has seemingly got back his rhythm following a few nervy displays during the start of the campaign and will be keen to prove his reliability against the Gers' cross-town rivals today.

LB- James Penrice: The Scottish international has made an immediate impact since joining the Gers this summer and has already made the left-back position his own.

CM- Dan Neil: The summer recruit has had his fair share of disappointing displays this season, but the midfielder has seemingly grown alongside the rest of the squad and looks to be settled into the side brilliantly just in time.

CM- Nicolas Raskin: The Belgian’s future with the Teddy Bears was up for grabs this summer due to his desire for a new challenge. However, a move never materialized, leaving Raskin to remain the focal point of the Gers' midfield, at least until the winter transfer window.

LW- Djeidi Gassama: Gassama is another Gers player who was highly sought after by a number of European clubs this summer, but the club management's decision to block that interest has paid off handsomely for McInnes at the start of this campaign.

RW - Badredine Bounani: With Daisuke Yokota out for at least two months, the Algerian international will look to cement his place in the squad following his deadline day loan move from VfB Stuttgart this summer.

FW - Ryan Naderi: The 23-year-old has seemingly stepped up his game brilliantly following the Gers' injury woes early on in the season, having already scored three goals and provided two assists in all competitions so far this season.

ST - Kevin Kelsy: The $13 million-rated centre-forward is still settling into life in his new side as he would be expected to take full advantage of Shankland's absence and make his mark today against the Celts ahead of Bojan Miovski, the scorer of the Gers' late winner against St Mirren.

Celtic's predicted starting XI

Vijlami Sinisalo; Colby Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Austin Trusty, Kieran Tierney; Callum McGregor, Mika Baur, Benjamin Nygren; Camilo Duran, Hiassem Hassan, Kasper Hogh.