RANGERS resume their Scottish Premiership title charge when they meet St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park at midday on Sunday.
Philippe Clement's side moved level on points with Old Firm rivals Celtic on Wednesday night thanks to their 3-1 win over Ross County, on a night where my Ibrox Bet Builder banked profit.
However, the Gers failure to see off the Staggies by a three goal swing means Brendan Rodgers’ side remain top of the pile going into matchday 26.
With Celtic playing host to Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon, the Light Blues will look to fulfil their end of the bargain by pocketing all three points in Perth.
As for St Johnstone, they remain in tenth place following their late collapse when losing 2-1 away at Dundee last Sunday.
Craig Levein’s side currently hold a five point buffer over second-bottom Ross County but they face a tall order to extend that lead when Rangers come to town this weekend.
Outright Betting
St Johnstone have drawn two of their last three Scottish Premiership home matches but the same outcome here is an unfancied 11/2 (Bet 365) while a Saints success is trading at 10/1 (Ladbrokes).
Rangers are a red-hot 1/14 favourites with Bet 365 to record what would be a ninth straight win across all competitions.
Betting Angles
As usual, the visitors are unbackable here in the more traditional markets so I'm going to throw a Bet Builder together and merge Rangers to Win, Under 4.5 Goals, Over 3.5 Rangers Corners and Over 0.5 St Johnstone Cards at 7/8 on BetVictor.
Rangers have been a model of consistency under Philippe Clement's management but they have been more efficient than emphatic in their displays and I suspect it will be more of the same against a stubborn St Johnstone side.
Gers boss Clement has claimed 15 victories from his 17 Scottish Premiership games in charge thus far, with no fewer than 14 of those wins featuring four match goals or fewer.
Whilst St Johnstone are hardly pulling up any trees at the moment, they do have a functional style and a pragmatic manager, as evidenced by the fact all six of the Perth Saints' league losses under Craig Levein have failed to break the 4.5 goal barrier.
As such, I'm prepared to side with another low-key Light Blues success on Sunday, but to boost the odds, I'll also back the visitors to earn a minimum of four corners.
The Ibrox side are averaging 7.52 flag kicks per-game in the Scottish top-flight this term, not to mention they have posted double figure corner counts in each of their last three league games.
For the final leg of the 7/8 Bet Builder on BetVictor, I'll also go with St Johnstone to pick up at least once card during this televised tussle.
Craig Levein's hosts have averaged 2.24 bookings per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season to date, clocking up one card or more in each of their last nine league matches.
With all that in mind, coupled with the fact this Bet Builder would have paid out in each of the previous two meetings between the pair this season, supporting the same selection on Sunday seems like a sensible solution at 7/8 (BetVictor).
This Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and Rangers will be played on Feb 18, 2024 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Johnstone vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
