RANGERS take their unbeaten record to Dundee United on Sunday where they will be presented with the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership, at least temporarily
Steven Gerrard's side have avoided defeat in each of their 26 matches across all competitions this season, a relentless run of form which coincides with a remarkable 20 clean sheets.
Inconsistency has dented Rangers' bid for domestic honours in recent years, however, there is no room for error this season with fierce rivals Celtic craving a historic tenth-consecutive Scottish Premiership crown.
Last time out the Light Blues secured top spot in Europa League Group D with an impressive 2-0 win over Lech Poznan, on a night where I cashed in on another lean defensive display from Gerrard and Co.
Dundee United, meanwhile, have enjoyed a decent start to life back in the Scottish Premiership – the Terrors begin the latest round of fixtures occupying a place in the top-six.
A depleted Dundee United team crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Livingston last Saturday, but Micky Mellon will be hoping that he can inspire a response from his troops when red-hot Rangers come to town this weekend.
Outright Betting
Dundee United have won their last two home matches but a third win on the spin is priced up at a whopping 18/1 with PaddyPower, while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 6/1 with Betfred.
Rangers have won their last seven league games and are strongly fancied to extend that sequence with an away success odds-on at 1/6 with Bet 365.
Betting Angles
18 of Rangers 21 victories this season have featured less than five match goals but a repeat here looks too short to put up at a best 1/2 with Betway.
Instead I'm going to head to the Bet Builder market and combine Rangers to win, under six match goals and over one Dundee United card, a 17/20 punt with William Hill.
Last Sunday Rangers' well-schooled rearguard extended their incredible defensive record to just three conceded in 16 league games and that does not bode well for a Dundee United team who have failed to score in 50% of their top-flight tussles this term.
Indeed, Mellon's men are hardly setting the heather alight at the top of end of the pitch, but they are a well-drilled defensive unit and they will almost certainly set up camp on the edge of their own penalty area on Sunday.
Nine of the Tangerines 16 outings to date have featured less than three match goals, three of which finished goalless, so another low-scoring affair could be in-store at Tannadice this weekend, and it's worth noting that this recommended Bet Builder banked in the reverse fixture.
What's more, the above-mentioned combination has clicked in five of Rangers' six Scottish Premiership road trip successes this season and with that in mind, I'm more than happy to support the same formula in the City of Discovery of Sunday.
I'll also dip into the player card market and have a value play on the 11/2 we can get with William Hill for Dundee United centre-half Mark Reynolds to be booked.
True, Reynolds' has only received one caution this season so far, but given his lack of pace he may have to take a yellow card here when faced with a ruthless Rangers frontline that will cause him real problems.
This Scottish Premiership match between Dundee United and Rangers will be played on Dec 13, 2020 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Dundee United vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
