In-form Rangers will look to continue their push towards the Scottish Premiership title as they face a tricky trip to Pittodrie to take on Aberdeen late on Sunday afternoon.
Rangers backed up their terrific comeback victory away at Celtic last weekend by recording a fairly comfortable 2-0 win at home to Aberdeen on Tuesday night.
That’s now 10 wins from 13 in the Scottish Premiership for Danny Rohl (W10-D2-L1), with that win over the Dons in midweek moving the Gers up into second spot in the Premiership table, three points ahead of bitter-rivals Celtic, and remarkably only three behind leaders Hearts, albeit the Teddy Bears have played a game more than both their title-rivals.
That above-mentioned defeat in midweek continued Aberdeen’s travel woes, with the Dons now losing each of their last four away matches, with that loss leaving them in eighth position, two points outside of the top six.
Aberdeen, who will still be managed by caretaker boss Peter Leven following Jimmy Thelin’s dismissal at the start of the week, have actually been strong at home in recent months, as they are unbeaten in each of their last five at Pittodrie (W2-D3-L0), including a 1-0 win over leaders Hearts at the end of November.
How the bookies view it: Gers favourites
Rangers are favourites to follow up their 2-0 victory over Aberdeen at Ibrox in midweek, with bet365 pricing an away success at 7/10.
Aberdeen are 15/4 to continue their recent impressive home form, whilst the draw is 11/4.
Head to head: Pittodrie a tough place for Gers
Whilst Rangers generally dominate Aberdeen at Ibrox and at Hampden, they do tend to struggle when travelling to Pittodrie, with the Dons unbeaten in each of their last four meetings with Rangers in front of their supporters (W2-D2-L0).
Players to watch: Fernandez to provide an aerial threat
Emmanuel Fernandez’s aerial dominance continues to be a massive threat for Rangers, as he headed in the opener against Aberdeen on Tuesday night.
The ex-Peterborough United centre back has now scored four goals across his last 10 Premiership appearances for Rangers, and is good value at 6/1 to find the target against the Dons for the second time this week.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Aberdeen will be without the injured Kristers Tobers, Gavin Molloy and Adil Aouchiche, whilst Ante Palaversa is a doubt.
Rangers will be missing a few players here, with Derek Cornelius, Dujon Sterling, Connor Barron, Oliver Antman, Nedim Bajrami and Bailey Rice all injured, but Nasser Djiga returns from the Africa Cup of Nations having not played a single minute for Burkina Faso.
Aberdeen: Mitov, Polvara, Knoester, Milne, Devils, Armstrong, Shinnie, Gyamfi, Clarkson, Lazetic, Nisbet
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Souttar, Meghoma,, Raskin, Diomande, Aasgaard, Gassama, Moore, Chermiti
Anything else catch the eye?
Rangers were fairly comfortably at Ibrox on Tuesday night in their 2-0 victory over the Dons, but they will find it much tougher at a ground where Aberdeen are known for raising their game against them.
As alluded to, The Dons are on a five-game unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership at Pittodrie, and given they are also unbeaten in their previous four home matches with Rangers, this leads me to the 11/10 on offer at bet365 for Aberdeen Double Chance.
Over 2.5 Goals has landed in each of Rangers’ last five away matches in the Scottish Premiership, and with both teams likely to contribute here, I like the look of the 4/5 at bet365 for that trend to continue on Sunday.
GambleAware