RANGERS will look to make a winning start to their last chance of a domestic trophy this season as they welcome Highland League side Fraserburgh to Ibrox in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
Rangers did at least narrow the gap to 13 points to bitter-rivals Celtic on Wednesday night, as they defeated Aberdeen 3-0 at Ibrox in what was a pretty dominant performance.
That result continued The Teddy Bears’ excellent home record domestically this season, with Phillipe Clement’s side winning 14 of their 15 Premiership and League Cup matches at Ibrox (W14-D1-L0).
After wins over fellow Highland League sides Rothes and Turriff United in the opening couple of rounds, Fraserburgh pulled off a shock in the third round of the Scottish Cup as they defeated League One side Annan Athletic 2-0 at home.
After finishing third last season, The Broch are currently in ninth position in the Highland League, some 18 points behind current leaders Brechin City.
How the bookies view it: Gers overwhelming favourites
Unsurprisingly, The Gers are overwhelming favourites to progress, as they are a tiny 1/150 at BoyleSports to win inside 90 minutes.
The same firm is pricing The Broch a massive 50/1 to claim a shock victory, whilst the draw is trading at 8/1.
Head to head: Rare meeting
This is just the second meeting between the sides, with Rangers winning 0-3 at the same stage of the competition in 2018, with Josh Windass bagging a hat-trick at Bellslea Park.
Players to watch: Another Hamza bonanza?
Hamza Igamane bagged the opener against Aberdeen in midweek, with the Moroccan starlet now netting 12 goals in his last 14 appearances for The Teddy Bears.
Midfielder Connor Wood scored in the past two rounds in the Scottish Cup for Fraserburgh.
Probable line-ups
Captain James Tavernier and Leon Balogun returned off the bench in midweek, but defenders John Souttar, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Dujon Sterling and Robin Propper are out, as are Tom Lawrence, Oscar Cortes and Danilo.
Fraserburgh have not played a competitive match since a 3-2 win over Clachnacuddin on the 28th of December, so manager Mark Cowie should have a full squad to choose from.
Rangers: Kelly, Tavernier, King, Nsiala, Yilmaz, Barron, Rice, Hagi, Bajrami, McCausland, Dessers
Fraserburgh: Barbour; Aitken, Simpson, Hay, Sweenie-Rowe; Strachan, West, Wood, Watt; Barbour, Butcher
Anything else catch the eye?
In truth, this match is near enough un-backable, with Rangers priced at 1/150 to win inside 90 minutes, whilst you need back Rangers to score Over 6.5 Goals just to get a price over evens, with BoyleSports offering odds of 23/20.
Phillipe Clement is expected to shuffle his pack – especially with a trip to Old Trafford looming next Thursday – so the likes of Ross McCausland and talented youngster Bailey Rice may get some minutes.
Cyriel Dessers came off the bench to grab Rangers’s third in that victory over The Dons in midweek and will be expected to add to his goal tally should he come in from the start here.
This Scottish Cup match between Rangers and Fraserburgh will be played on Jan 19, 2025 and kick off at 14:15. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Fraserburgh prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
