Veolia Trophy: Here's all you need to know about the pre-season tournament featuring Celtic and Rangers

Old Firm fans can watch their teams in action for first time since shutdown

Kristoffer Ajer battles with Joe Aribo during the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on December 29, 2019. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Celtic and Rangers step up their preparations for the new campaign this week with a pre-season tournament in France.

The duo will compete for the Veolia Trophy, a four-team event also featuring Ligue 1 sides Lyon and Nice, although the Glasgow rivals will not face each other as teams from the same country are kept apart.

The opening fixtures on Thursday will see Neil Lennon's nine-in-a-row champions kick-off the competition against Nice at 5.15pm, before their Ibrox counterparts take on Lyon at 7.45pm.

The second and final round of fixtures then takes place on Saturday with Steven Gerrard's side facing Nice at 5.15pm before Celtic face Lyon at 7.45pm, a match that will see former Hoops striker Moussa Dembele face his former club for the first time since leaving Parkhead in a £20m move in August 2018.

The games will take place at the Groupama Stadium, home of Lyon, and will be played in front of a crowd, with as many as 5000 fans allowed into the ground after the French Government relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions.

However, Old Firm fans will not be able to attend as Lyon are only allowing club members to purchase tickets and there will be strict rules to ensure other supporters are not in attendance.

The tournament will, however, be the first opportunity for Celtic and Rangers fans to watch their team on screen since the Covid-19 pandemic ended the 2019-20 season in March as the matches will be broadcast live on Premier Sports.

Celtic also take on current French league champions PSG at the Parc des Princes at 6pm on Tuesday, July 21 in an additional friendly match that will also be broadcast on Premier Sports.

Rangers return to Scotland to face fellow Premiership side Motherwell at Ibrox on Wednesday, July 22 (6pm) before welcoming English League One champions Coventry City on Saturday, July 25 (5.15pm). Again, these matches will be broadcast on Premier Sports.

The Glasgow sides will use the matches to prepare for the start of the 2020/21 season as Celtic begin their bid for a historic 10th league title in a row with a home match on August 2 against Hamilton, while Rangers travel to Aberdeen on August 1.