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Livingston logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 30
Mar 3, 2021 at 6pm UK
Almondvale Stadium
Rangers logo

Livingston
0 - 1
Rangers


Guthrie (6'), Sibbald (48'), Devlin (51'), Holt (66'), Serrano (71'), Stryjek (81')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Morelos (87')
Morelos (37'), McGregor (90+1')

Preview: Livingston vs. Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Scottish Premiership clash between Livingston and Rangers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Rangers travel to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening, hoping to claim their 27th league victory of the campaign and move within four points of clinching their first top-flight title in 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Lions have picked up only one point from their last nine available and come into this match having lost the Scottish League Cup final to St Johnstone last weekend.


Match preview

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard before the match in the Europa League on February 18, 2021© Reuters

Another seven-goal thriller involving Rangers and Royal Antwerp saw the Scottish giants win 5-2 in the second leg of their Europa League tie at Ibrox last Thursday.

Nathan Patterson scored his first goal for the Gers just 16 seconds after coming on at half time and strikes from Ryan Kent, Borna Barisic and Cedric Itten added to Alfredo Morelos's ninth-minute effort to give the home side a 9-5 aggregate victory, with a last-16 draw against Slavia Prague awaiting later this month.

Rangers now have two Scottish Premiership fixtures to focus on before turning their attention back to the Europa League, with Livingston on Wednesday evening the next opponents that they will be hoping to beat as they move closer to clinching the title.

The Gers are just seven points away from winning their first top-flight crown since 2011 and victories from their next two matches would see Steven Gerrard's side head into the Old Firm derby later this month needing just a point to end Celtic's nine-year supremacy.

Rangers' impressive unbeaten run in the top flight currently stands at 31 matches, winning 27 and drawing four. The Gers have conceded just nine goals in this run and have kept 23 clean sheets.

Gerrard's men are on course to become only the second team in Scottish Premiership history – along with Brendan Rodgers's Celtic side in the 2016-17 season – to go an entire top-flight campaign unbeaten.

Rangers defender Filip Helander gets a shot away in the Scottish Premiership clash with Livingston on August 16, 2020© Reuters

Livingston were unable to replicate their Scottish League Cup triumph of 2003-04 as they narrowly lost 1-0 to St Johnstone at Hampden Park on Sunday.

Shaun Rooney's first-half header proved enough for the Saints to beat the Lions for the second time in February and lift the trophy for the first time in their history.

David Martindale gave credit to St Johnstone but reminded his players "to look on the positives" and their achievements in getting to the final.

Livingston's next challenge does not get any easier as they face Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers, who have lost only one of their last 42 matches in all competitions.

The Lions have suffered a recent dip in form, failing to win any of their last four matches and conceding seven goals in the process. Martindale's men had conceded only five goals during a 14-game unbeaten run prior to this spell.

Livi also have a poor record against the Gers, having won only one of their last 20 top-flight games against them, losing six of their last seven without scoring.

Securing a surprise victory on Wednesday would see Livingston move four points ahead of St Mirren in sixth and they would also close the gap on fourth-placed Aberdeen to five points, with a game in hand.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form: WDWLLD
Livingston form (all competitions): DWLLDL

Rangers Scottish Premiership form: WWWDWW
Rangers form (all competitions): WDWWWW


Team News

Rangers' James Tavernier receives medical attention after sustaining an injury in the Europa League on February 18, 2021© Reuters

Livingston forward Scott Robinson was a doubt with a back injury for the Scottish League Cup final, but after starting and playing 90 minutes, the 28-year-old is in contention to feature on Wednesday.

The Lions are still without Keaghan Jacobs (foot) and Alan Lithgow (hip), who are both injured, but otherwise David Martindale has a full squad to pick from.

Rangers pair James Tavernier (knee) and Kemar Roofe (calf) remain out with injuries, while Leon Balogun is doubtful after coming off at half time against Royal Antwerp with a knock.

Right-back Nathan Patterson could therefore start his first game of the season after impressing in the second half against the Belgian side on Thursday.

Scott Wright, who joined from Aberdeen last month, is also pushing to start his first match for the Gers but is likely to begin the game with Livingston on the bench.

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, Serrano; Bartley, Holt; Mullin, Pittman, Forrest, Robinson

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Patterson, Goldson, Helander, Barisic; Kamara, Davies, Arfield; Hagi, Morelos, Kent


SM words green background

We say: Livingston 0-2 Rangers

Livingston have failed to score in eight of their last nine meetings against Rangers and are set to find it difficult against them once again this weekend, despite Gerrard's side conceding six goals in their last three games in all competitions.

The Gers should have no problems in securing yet another three points in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 71.22%. A draw had a probability of 17.7% and a win for Livingston had a probability of 11.11%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 0-2 with a probability of 12.39%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.97%) and 1-2 (9.49%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.4%), while for a Livingston win it was 1-0 (3.72%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 11% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Livingston vs Rangers

Livingston
10.6%
Draw
12.8%
Rangers
76.6%
47
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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard before the match in the Europa League on February 18, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1110103132831
2Aberdeen11101024101431
3RangersRangers11713168822
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd125431813519
5Motherwell116141514119
6St Mirren134361722-515
7Dundee123361824-612
8Kilmarnock123361525-1012
9Ross County132651021-1112
10St Johnstone133191627-1110
11Hearts132381420-69
12Hibernian121561118-78


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