Rangers, aiming to bounce back after a disappointing defeat last time out, are set to play host to St Mirren at the Ibrox Stadium in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
The hosts are third in the table with 16 points from eight games, while the visitors are eighth in the standings with just eight points from their first nine outings.
Match preview
© Imago
Despite it still being early days in the 2024-25 season, Philippe Clement has already faced plenty of criticism with Rangers experiencing a slow start to the campaign.
The Gers won just one of their opening four matches across all competitions, drawing two and losing one, and Clement has struggled to get the supporters on his side ever since.
Rangers have gone on to win eight of the following 11 fixtures following that start, losing the remaining three, but that already leaves the Gers trailing Celtic and Aberdeen by six points after just eight league games.
While they bounced back from the latest disappointing defeat to Kilmarnock with a commanding 4-0 triumph against FCSB in the Europa League, with pressure mounting on Clement due to their league position, the manager will be desperate for a significant win on Sunday.
Rangers should be confident of securing all three points against St Mirren, with the Gers winning all of the last six meetings between these two sides.
St Mirren are also enduring a miserable run heading into this game, having lost all of their last three matches, including a 4-0 loss to Hearts in their most recent outing.
Having started the 2024-25 campaign unbeaten in their first four outings, with two wins and two draws, Steve Robinson will be extremely disappointed with the results his side have recorded in their following outings.
They followed the opening fixtures with four successive defeats, before eventually ending that run with back-to-back draws and a win against Hearts, but they have fell back into a losing streak in the subsequent three matches, including that uninspiring 4-0 loss to the Jambos.
Robinson will be hoping his side can end that run with a win against Rangers, but history is certainly against them given their horrible record in this fixture, winning just one of the last 26 meetings.
Team News
![Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stephen-robinson.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
© Imago
Rangers are expected to be without at least four players for this match due to injury issues, with Danilo, Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmaz all likely to miss out.
Tom Lawrence, Cyriel Dessers, Leon Balogun, and Jack Butland all reportedly sustained injuries during their recent 4-0 victory against FCSB, leaving it uncertain whether they will be fit to play on Sunday.
As for the visitors, Alex Iacovitti, Conor McMenamin and Richard Taylor are all ruled out from featuring due to injury issues.
After suffering a humiliating 4-0 loss to Hearts last time out, a side they defeated 2-1 just a month prior, Robinson is likely to name a number of changes for this one.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte; Barron, Raskin; Cerny, Diomande, Bajrami; Igamane
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Tanser; Olusanya, Idowu, Boyd-Munce, O'Hara, Kiltie; Mandron
We say: Rangers 3-1 St Mirren
With Rangers and Clement in need of a victory to keep pace with the top two in the league, while St Mirren are on a three-game losing streak, we expect the hosts to secure a win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
