RANGERS lost their unbeaten record under Philippe Clement in a bitter Old Firm defeat at the weekend and play their final game before the winter break when Kilmarnock first foot them at Ibrox on Tuesday.
The repercussions from that controversial defeat at Parkhead will doubtless linger until the next derby but whatever the tedious rights and wrongs of the various decisions made in the east end of Glasgow, the loss was a real hammer blow to Rangers.
They could have gone top heading into the break if they had won a postponed game against Ross County and at Celtic, but instead, they now find themselves eight points behind the champions, albeit with two games in hand.
They daren't drop any more points before the break, but they face a Killie side who have been flying recently.
Derek McInnes has got third place firmly in their sights and already this season they have beaten Celtic twice and Rangers once in the opening day of the season, although all of those games came at Rugby Park.
But they are unbeaten in six games and have won four of them and they will think they are playing a Rangers team depleted with injuries at the right time.
How the bookies view it
Rangers are massive favourites of course at 2/7 with Kilmarnock available at 11/1 with Coral. The draw is 11/2 also with bet365.
Recent head to heads
As stated, Kilmarnock stunned Rangers on day one of the season with a surprise 1-0 win in Ayrshire.
Rangers had won the previous six games and haven't lost to Killie at Ibrox since 2018.
Players to watch
Cyriel Dessers, put simply, had a nightmare against Celtic when he missed a great chance and generally looked out of his depth. But he's surely much better than that and is actually on a decent enough return of nine goals for the season. He is 13/10 to score anyime with Betfred.
Anything else catch the eye?
Rangers are likely to hand a start to new loan signing Fabio Silva and that should give Ibrox a lift after the gloom and doom of the past few days.
But Killie are absolutely no mugs and can make this a tight game. Take Rangers to win by one goal here at 3/1 with bet365.
Combative midfielder David Watson has won plenty of admirers this season and loves a tackle as the youngster's seven cards testify too.
Back him at 7/4 with bet365 to get another one with the Killie engine room set for a busy night.
This Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Kilmarnock will be played on Jan 2, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
