First faces third in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday as Rangers take on Aberdeen, hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen are looking to extend their run of six league matches without defeat and claim their ninth top-flight victory of the season.
Match preview
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It seemed as if Rangers' campaign could not get any better, but it certainly did just before the international break as Steven Gerrard's side thumped Hamilton Academical 8-0, the biggest win of Gerrard's reign.
Braces for Kemar Roofe, Joe Aribo and James Tavernier as well as strikes from Scott Arfield and Brandon Barker secured the Gers' 12th Scottish Premiership victory of the season.
Rangers are on a real high at the moment, although there was some disappointing news for them this week as defender George Edmundson and winger Jordan Jones were handed seven-game bans by the Scottish FA for breaking coronavirus protocols. The pair will be free to return to action for the match against St Mirren on December 30.
The Gers head into their home fixture with Aberdeen with a perfect record at Ibrox, winning all nine of their 2020-21 matches, scoring 27 goals and conceding just once against Galatasaray in October.
Rangers are unbeaten in six league meetings with Aberdeen – winning four and drawing the other two – and have kept clean sheets in four of their last five against the Dons.
Club captain James Tavernier also likes to play against Aberdeen, as the right-back has been directly involved in 12 of Rangers' last 23 league goals scored against them, netting nine goals and providing three assists.
A victory on Sunday would see Rangers retain their nine-point gap ahead of Celtic – if the Hoops were to beat Hibernian on Saturday – and would see the Gers claim their seventh successive league win.
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Aside from their Scottish Cup semi-final exit, Derek McInnes will be pleased with how his side have performed in recent weeks, with the 2-0 win at home to Hibernian two weeks ago extending their run in the Scottish Premiership to six matches without defeat.
McInnes will also be impressed with how his side have improved in the final third as the Dons have scored 14 goals in their last six top-flight matches, after only scoring five goals in the opening six league games this campaign.
Aberdeen are going into this fixture at Ibrox in good form and also know what it takes to defeat Rangers in their own backyard. The Dons are the only side to win twice away from home against a Rangers side managed by Gerrard, winning 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership in December 2018 and 2-0 in the Scottish Cup in March 2019.
Since they lost their season opener to Rangers, Aberdeen have only lost one of their last 11 league matches – winning eight and drawing the other two – losing 3-0 to Motherwell in September.
Claiming three points on Sunday could see them move level on points with Celtic, if the Hoops lose to Hibernian on Saturday, and would end Rangers' run of 20 games without defeat this campaign.
Rangers Scottish Premiership form: WWWWWW
Rangers form (all competitions): WWWWDW
Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form: WDWDLW
Aberdeen form (all competitions): WWDWDW
Team News
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Goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin are still competing with one another for the number one jersey, but after starting in the last match against Hamilton, McLaughlin may be given the nod on Sunday.
Defender Filip Helander could be recalled to the starting lineup and replace Leon Balogun, while Joe Aribo, who scored twice against Hamilton, is likely to keep his starting spot in midfield.
Alfredo Morelos – an unused substitute in Colombia's 6-1 thrashing by Ecuador on Tuesday – should be back in time from international duty and could start up front, replacing Jermain Defoe.
Niall McGinn is the latest addition to Aberdeen's casualty list after suffering a calf injury.
Dylan McGeouch and Jonny Hayes are both ruled out with groin injuries, while Marley Watkins is also unavailable as he is suffering with a hamstring problem.
Midfielder Ross McCrorie – on loan from Rangers – in unable to face his parent club.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McLaughlin; Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Barisic; Kamara, Jack, Aribo; Hagi, Morelos, Kent
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Hoban, Taylor, Considine; McLennan, Ojo, Ferguson, Kennedy; Hedges, Wright; Cosgrove
We say: Rangers 2-0 Aberdeen
Aberdeen are improving, building momentum and will be difficult to break down, however there seems to be no stopping this rampant Rangers side who are determined to keep their impressive run going.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 73.78%. A draw had a probability of 17.5% and a win for Aberdeen had a probability of 8.73%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 2-0 with a probability of 14.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (13.77%) and 3-0 (10.75%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.13%), while for an Aberdeen win it was 0-1 (3.76%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.
