RANGERS will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership to nine matches with a win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Wednesday night.
The Ibrox side have shown marked improvement since Michael Beale took the reins during the World Cup break, with the new Gers manager winning six of his seven games in charge thus far.
Last time out, Rangers booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after coming from behind to defeat Aberdeen 2-1 in extra time at Hampden.
Beale and Co now turn their attention back to league mattes on Wednesday night as they travel to Ayrshire to take on Kilmarnock.
Derek McInnes’ men sit in the relegation playoff spot on 20 points, just three above rock-bottom Ross County, who have a played a game more.
The hosts come into this one off the back of a pair of defeats against Celtic and they should expect little respite when the blue half of Glasgow come to town this midweek.
Outright Betting
Despite losing just one of their last eight home matches, Kilmarnock enter this contest as 9/1 (Ladbrokes) underdogs while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 9/2 (Bet 365).
Rangers, who boast a 100% road record in the Scottish Premiership under Michael Beale's management, arrive at Rugby Park as short priced 1/3 (Bet 365) favourites.
Betting Angles
Rangers are worthy favourites here but they are unlikely to have things all their own way, so much so that I'll head to the Bet Builder market and combine Over 2 Kilmarnock Corners and Over 1 Kilmarnock card at even-money (Bet 365).
Granted Kilmarnock have not been prominent corner performers this season, having averaged 4.24 per-game thus far, however three flag kicks here doesn't look out of reach when faced with a Rangers side who could be feeling the effects of their extra-time exertions from Sunday.
What's more, Derek McInnes’ men produced a spirited display against Celtic at Hampden on Saturday, racking up an impressive six corner kicks in the process, so I'm more than happy to side with half of that tally here given that Killie should be the fresher of the two teams in this encounter.
Given that Kilmarnock have averaged 2.10 yellow cards per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season so far, I'll round off the Builder by backing the hosts to pick up a couple up bookings during this televised tussle.
Visitors Rangers, who should dictate the tempo of the game, have drawn a minimum of two cards from 17 of their 21 top-flight this term to date, not to mention we have a favourable referee appointment here in Kevin Clancy, who is averaging in the region of 5.5 cards per-game this season.
It's also worth pointing out that this Bet Builder would have paid out in August's reverse fixture at Ibrox and that only adds to the appeal of supporting the same wager in Ayrshire on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere, I'll also have a nibble on Kilmarnock's Ash Taylor to get on the scoresheet at 14/1 (Bet 365) – the same bet is as short as 6/1 with other firms.
The Killie centre half – who has already chipped in with four league goals this term – is one of the most aerially-dominant players in the division, so he looks worthy of some interest to breach a Light Blues backline that have shown vulnerability to set-pieces all season.
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This Scottish Premiership match between Kilmarnock and Rangers will be played on Jan 18, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Kilmarnock vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
