Celtic’s late kick-off Kazakhstan, fearful Rangers bending new rule | OneFootball

Celtic’s kick-off time against Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan has been revealed and it’s a late-one. Meanwhile theRangers are bending the rules fearing Celtic going ten points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership…

Players of FC Kairat pose for a team photo prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 first qualifying round first leg match between Olimpija and Kairat Almaty at Stadion Stozice on July 08, 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)

Celtic must endure a tough journey home from Almaty five days ahead of the season’s opening Glasgow Derby against theRangers at Ibrox.

To make matters that bit tougher, Brendan Rodgers’ side will conclude the second leg of their Champions League play-off with Kairat Almaty at the Almaty Central Stadium close to midnight local time.

Almaty Central Stadium. Capacity 23,804. Almaty, Kazakhstan

UEFA’s website has confirmed that the second leg between Kairat and Celtic is scheduled to kick off at 5:45pm CPT on Tuesday, 26 August. With a four-hour time difference at play, this means that, local time, in the far east of Kazakhstan, the game will begin at 9:45pm.

If the tie remains level after 90 minutes over both legs, the game could stretch even later into the night with extra time and penalties, as both teams vie for a spot in the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition which carries with it a financial bonanza of at least £40m.

Rangers substitute Neraysho Kasanwirjo runs on to the pitch to throw items off the pitch that appear to have been thrown into the Celtic penalty area during the second half of the match. theRangers v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Ibrox. Sunday 04 May 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Just a few days after their long journey, the Hoops will head to Ibrox for their final Scottish Premiership encounter before the first international break takes place at the beginning of September.

First Glasgow Derby of the season is at Ibrox on 31 August

The opening Glasgow Derby of the season is set for Sunday, 31 August at Ibrox, with a midday kick-off which will be shown live on Sky Sports.

With that in mind, Rodgers’ men will be hoping they can get the majority of their work done in the home leg of the Champions League play-off against the Kazakh title-winners. That match is scheduled for next Wednesday, 20 August, with an 8pm kick-off time.

Adam Idah celebrates scoring at Ibrox to level the score at 1-1. theRangers v Celtic, 4 May 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Should Celtic wrap up the home tie in similar fashion to Astana back in 2017, it might give Rodgers the chance to rest first-team players to ensure his strongest XI is fresh for theRangers clash, although the Celtic manager will almost certainly be reluctant to take any chances.

Latest Ibriox club’s hilarious U-turn

Meanwhile the latest Ibrox club made a hilarious U-turn on Tuesday afternoon regarding their initial postponement against St Mirren in Paisley next Sunday. This is partly because theRangers’ new superstar Nasser Djiga would have missed the game against Celtic due to getting sent-off versus Dundee for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity last weekend.

It is also because Rodgers’ side would most likely [barring any dropped points at home to Livingston next Saturday]be heading to Ibrox knowing that a victory would take the Scottish champions 10 points clear at the top of the table before September hit.

Russell Martin, Manager of theRangers interacts with the match referees following the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Dundee at Ibrox on August 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Who knows, Celtic may still be in that position given Russell Martin’s ‘disappointing’ domestic record so far. St Mirren are well organised and are a real threat going forward on their own patch.

Conor Spence

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