RANGERS and St Johnstone will square off for the second time in the space of seven days when they meet in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams went toe-to-toe in the Scottish Cup last weekend, as Borna Barisic's well executed strike on the stroke of half-time ensured the holders progressed to the next round.
That means Rangers are now nine games unbeaten since Michael Beale took the reins, with the Light Blues boss delivering eight successes during that sample.
Now Gers turn their attention back to league matters this weekend, where they know another win over Saints would reduce the gap at the top of the table to six points, at least temporarily.
St Johnstone, on the other hand, will be looking to put the brakes on a five-game losing streak in the Scottish Premiership, the most recent of which was a 4-2 reverse at home to Livingston.
As such, Callum Davidson's side will now be rather nervously looking over their shoulder at the sides housed below them, with the Saints situated just four points above the relegation playoff spot.
Outright Betting
Rangers, who boast an unbeaten record at home in the Scottish Premiership this season, go into this game as short-priced 1/6 (UniBet) favourites.
St Johnstone stunned Rangers with a 2-1 win the last time the two teams met in the Scottish Premiership, but the same outcome here is unfancied 18/1 (Bet 365) while the draw is also deemed unlikely at 13/2 (PaddyPower).
Betting Angles
This is a case of getting creative to try and squeeze some value out of a home win, so I'll side with the 11/10 on offer with UniBet for Rangers to Win, Rangers Most Corners and St Johnstone Most Cards.
As already alluded to, the Light Blues have done the majority of their best work in Govan this season, winning nine of their 11 league games at Ibrox, one of which was against St Johnstone back in August, on an afternoon where the above-mentioned play would have yielded profit.
In fact, this is the type of assignment Rangers have been particularly efficient in dealing with in recent years, and I suspect they will record another solid if unspectacular success on Saturday, as was the case when the pair met last weekend.
With the hosts likely to dictate the tempo of the game, and St Johnstone looking to sit deep and soak up pressure, I'll also back Rangers to rack up more corners than their struggling opponents.
Michael Beale's men are averaging 7.41 corners per-game in the Scottish Premiership this season, a figure that rises to 8.41 when going about their business at their Glasgow base.
Given that St Johnstone are averaging a sizeable 2.73 cards per 90 in the Scottish top-flight this term, I'm happy to conclude the Bet Builder with the Perth visitors picking up the most cards here.
One player who could be worth considering to tackle his way into trouble is St Johnstone's Adam Montgomery who has been priced up at 10/3 with Bet 365.
The Celtic loanee has already clocked up four cards this season and he looks worthy of some interest to add to that tally here given that his direct opponent is likely to be Rangers speed machine Fashion Sakala.
This Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and St Johnstone will be played on Jan 28, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs St Johnstone prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
