The 450th instalment of the Old Firm derby takes centre stage at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon as Rangers play host to rivals Celtic in an important Scottish Premiership title battle.

Dany Rohl’s side currently sit second in the table and two points clear of Martin O’Neill’s men in third, but both sides trail leaders Hearts, who boast a four-point lead at the summit and face Aberdeen on Saturday.

Rangers enter this contest on the back of a 2-2 draw with basement club Livingston last weekend, while Celtic bounced back from a damaging 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian by winning 1-0 at Stuttgart in the Europa League on Thursday, albeit crashing out 4-2 on aggregate in the knockout playoff round.

Both the Gers and the Hoops are now determined to produce a statement performance to boost their title hopes, though they will have to cope without a number of first-team squad members.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up the latest injury and suspension news for Rangers and Celtic.

RANGERS INJURY NEWS:

Dujon Sterling

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: March 1 (vs. Celtic)

Injury-prone defender Dujon Sterling was forced to miss the draw with Livingston due to a ‘small’ injury, but Rohl has confirmed that he has taken part in training this week and a final call on his availability will be made after their final training session before Sunday’s fixture.

Ryan Naderi

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: March 1 (vs. Celtic)

New striker Ryan Naderi has been dealing with a minor issue, but like Sterling, he has been able to take part in training and a late call will be made on whether he will feature in the matchday squad against Celtic.

Oliver Antman

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: March 1 (vs. Celtic)

Oliver Antman was not involved in Rangers’ draw with Livingston as he was dealing with “some problems” according to Rohl after sitting out the trip to West Lothian last Sunday. The attacker is a doubt for Sunday.

Connor Barron

Status: Out

Type of injury: Hamstring

Possible return date: March 15 (vs. St Mirren)

Connor Barron has been out of action since January after sustaining up a knee injury and the midfielder is not ready to return to first-team action.

Derek Cornelius

Status: Out

Type of injury: Muscle

Possible return date: March 21 (vs. Aberdeen)

Derek Cornelius has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on a muscle injury in late November. The Marseille loanee as begun light training but is set to remain out for at least a couple more weeks.

Bailey Rice

Status: Out

Type of injury: Unspecified

Possible return date: Unknown

Bailey Rice is set to miss the rest of the season after undergoing an operation on what was described back in November as an “significant injury”.

CELTIC INJURY NEWS:

Julian Araujo

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Hamstring

Possible return date: March 1 (vs. Celtic)

On-loan Bournemouth full-back Julian Araujo did not travel to Germany for Celtic’s Europa League win over Stuttgart after picking up a knock earlier in the week, and he will be assessed ahead of kickoff on Sunday.

Arne Engels

Status: Out

Type of injury: Thigh

Possible return date: March 22 (vs. Dundee United)

Key midfielder Arne Engels has missed the last four games with a thigh strain and is not expected to return until after March’s international break.

Callum Osmand

Status: Out

Type of injury: Hamstring

Possible return date: March 22 (vs. Dundee United)

Callum Osmand underwent surgery on a hamstring injury in November and the striker is set to remain sidelined until the end of March at the earliest.

Alistair Johnston

Status: Out

Type of injury: Hamstring

Possible return date: April 11 (vs. St Mirren)

Alistair Johnston has been out since the end of October with a hamstring injury that required surgery, and the right-back could be sidelined until April.

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Status: Out

Type of injury: Achilles

Possible return date: Unknown

Cameron Carter-Vickers has not featured since October with a serious Achilles injury and the centre-back is facing a race against time to recover before the end of the season.

Jota

Status: Out

Type of injury: ACL

Possible return date: Unknown

Jota is still recovering from a troublesome ACL injury that he suffered in April last year and the attacker is not expected to return before the end of this season.

RANGERS VS. CELTIC SUSPENSION LIST

Auston Trusty

Return date: March 8 (vs. Rangers in Scottish Cup quarter-finals)

Celtic defender Auston Trusty will serve a three-match ban in the Premiership following his red card against Hibs last time out. The American will miss league games against Rangers, Aberdeen and Motherwell, but he is able to play in the Scottish Cup quarter-final clash against the Gers next week.