Every potential Rangers and Celtic World Cup absence in Sydney as Aussie at risk to get watered down derby

We all started the week believing it to be mere Internet furphy.

But, no. Celtic and Rangers are actually heading Down Under to take on each other in front of an expected 80,000 crowd of Sydneysiders.

The idea of heading abroad for sunnier climes and some revenue boosting friendlies is one few fans of either side could have picked a bone with during the five-week lay-off presented over November and December by Qatar 2022.

But few expected the clubs to face each other and it'll be interesting to see if any songs or messages of dissent are heard or seen from the stands in the coming weeks with the virtual reaction proving quite ferocious.

A lot can happen in eight months in terms of players coming in and out but one thing is for sure that the Aussie crowd won't see either side at their strongest.

A spate of absences are expected with clubs forced to release players to their respective national teams by November 14 - two days BEFORE the first fixture of the ' Sydney Super Cup ', which also involves A-Leaguers Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Glasgow giants meet on November 20, just hours before the first match of the Qatar finals.

While it's a tight squeeze, pre-World Cup friendlies - or even bounce games between nations not competing at Qatar 2022 - could be arranged during that time which could also take more players out of the equation during an official FIFA window.

Croatia, for example, have already indicated they will have a warm-up game while Gareth Southgate says his England players will be going in cold.

It's all a bit of a headache but thankfully we've broken down who's likely to miss the Sydney Super Cup from both Glasgow participants.

Let's start at home and the outcome we all want - Scotland