RANGERS will look to build on their triumph in the Europa League on Thursday night as they welcome poor-travelling St Mirren to Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.
Phillipe Clement’s men bounced back from their 1-4 thrashing at home to Lyon on MD2 as they put four unanswered goals past Romanian side FCSB on Thursday night to make it two wins from three in the new league phase of the Europa League.
That victory came off the back of a woeful performance at Rugby Park last Sunday, as the Gers fell to a late 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock which saw them fall six points behind both Aberdeen and Celtic.
St Mirren were on the end of the new manager bounce at Tynecastle last Saturday, as they fell to a 4-0 defeat away at Hearts in what was Neil Critchley’s first match in charge of The Jambos.
A 2-1 victory over Hearts – in what was ironically Steven Naismith’s last match in charge of the capital club – is The Buddies only league win across their last eight matches (W1-D2-L5), losing each of their past three.
How the bookies view it: Gers clear favourites
Unsurprisingly, The Gers are clear favourites to make it five wins from five in the Premiership at home, as they are 1/4 at William Hill to claim all three points.
St Mirren are priced as 12/1 outsiders to claim a surprise victory, with the draw trading at 11/2.
Head to head: Rangers Dominance of late
Rangers have been victorious in 12 of the past 13 meetings with The Buddies (W12-D1-L0), winning all four of the meetings between the pair last season.
Players to watch: Cerny to continue to score
Czechia winger Vaclav Cerny scored two of Rangers’ four goals against FCSB on Thursday night and also bagged both of The Gers goals in their previous Premiership match at Ibrox against St Johnstone.
Toyosi Olusanya is St Mirren’s top-scorer in the Premiership, with The Englishman netting four times in nine appearances.
Probable line-ups
Tom Lawrence was subbed off at halftime on Thursday night with an injury after netting the opener, so maybe a doubt and Ianis Hagi is still suspended. Cortes, Matondo and Yilmaz remain out.
Stephen Robinson will likely make changes following their 4-0 thrashing in Gorgie last week. Alex Iacovitti, Richard Taylor, and Conor McMenamin will be out injured.
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte, Barron, Raskin, Diomande, Bajrami, Cerny, Dessers
St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Tanser, O’Hara, Adeniran, Smyth, Kiltie, Olusanya, Mandron
Anything else catch the eye?”
Whilst Rangers have struggled on their travels this season, they have been just about faultless at home, winning each of their opening four Premiership matches in front of their supporters by an aggregate score of 11-1 and should be too strong for their poor-travelling visitors.
The Buddies remain winless on their travels this term (W0-D1-L3) – shipping multiple goals in each of their four trips – and I’m expecting that trend to continue at a venue they haven’t won at since 1991.
To complete the bet builder, I’m happy to throw in both sides to be shown a card, a selection that has landed in 14/17 (82%) of the pair’s combined Premiership outings this season.
This Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and St Mirren will be played on Oct 27, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs St Mirren prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
