RANGERS must get themselves up off the canvas in short order when they play host to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.
The clouds are circling above Giovanni van Bronckhorst's head after Gers' troubled start to the season, with the Dutchman now under severe pressure following Sunday's 2-1 loss at St Johnstone.
That latest setback has left the Light Blues trailing Old Firm rivals Celtic by a sizeable seven points following just 13 rounds of top-flight fixtures.
As such, Van Bronckhorst and his team can ill-afford to drop any more points when Hearts come to town this midweek.
Robbie Neilson's side showed an abundance of fighting spirit to defeat Motherwell 3-2 on Sunday having played with 10-men for over half the game, on an afternoon where my capital wager copped.
Having exited Europe, and now able to fully focus on the Scottish Premiership having climbed up to the fourth spot, the Jambos will arrive in Govan in good spirits.
Outright Betting
Rangers romped to a 4-0 victory in last month's reverse fixture and the same outcome here is heavily fancied at 1/4 (Bet 365).
Despite winning their last two league games, Hearts head into this game as huge 12/1 (Ladbrokes) underdogs while a share of the spoils is also deemed unlikely at 11/2 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
Rangers are worthy favourites here but they are unlikely to have things all their own way and with that in mind, being able to back Hearts to score on Wednesday night holds appeal at 4/5 (Bet 365).
As already alluded to, Rangers are in the midst of a rough patch at the moment and that can be attributed to the fact they are shipping goals at an alarming rate.
While the Light Blues defensive woes on the continent have been well-documented this season, the Scottish giants have also struggled to keep their sheets clean when going about their business closer to home as well.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's backline have failed to shut out their opponents in each of their last four Scottish Premiership matches, with both Livingston and Aberdeen making the net ripple at Ibrox in recent weeks.
That doesn't bode well ahead of a visit from a Hearts side that have hit eight goals across their last three top-flight fixtures, a sample that included three strikes against table-topping Celtic just over two weeks ago.
The capital club should therefore be capable of threatening a Ranger's defence low on confidence, so much so that backing Hearts to score on Wednesday night looks worth taking on at a value 4/5 (Bet 365).
Having chipped in with five goals in his last three league appearances for Hearts, Lawrence Shankland looks among the prime candidates to get on the scoresheet for the visitors at 17/5 with William Hill.
The Hearts striker – who is the joint third-top goalscorer in the league this season – is a man in form and he is also on penalties which is always an added incentive when delving into this market, even more so following the recent arrival of VAR in Scotland.
This Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Heart of Midlothian will be played on Nov 9, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Heart of Midlothian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Over 2 Ranger goal
I look at hearts as team which cant fail to score
Possibly
Ranger vs Hearts [BTTS]