Ibrox will play host to the Scottish League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday as both Rangers and Livingston look to book a place in the final four.

The Gers head into the game after a draw against Motherwell at the weekend, while Livingston are fresh from their first victory in the league against Celtic.

Match preview

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard pictured on August 3, 2021 © Reuters

It was a frustrating day for Steven Gerrard on Saturday as he watched his team be held to a draw at home against Motherwell, which means they have now gone two games in a row without a victory.

The Gers took the lead thanks to a goal from Fashion Sakala in the 12th minute, but they were unable to hang on to that lead to secure three points.

Despite the result, Rangers remain top of the Scottish Premiership and they do have plenty of confidence heading into this cup fixture, which could provide the distraction they need to get back to winning ways.

Gerrard's men have already played Livingston this season, with the two teams meeting on the opening day in the league, and it was the Gers who came out comfortable winners.

Goals from Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe helped secure a 3-0 victory, which is a result they will be more than happy to repeat.

Livingston manager David Martindale pictured in February 2021 © Reuters

Rangers have won the competition 27 times in their history, but it was the 2010-11 tournament when they last got their hands on this particular trophy, having most recently got to the final in the 2019-20 season, where they were beaten by Celtic.

The Gers were able to breeze past Dunfermline Athletic, defeating them 5-0 in order to secure a place in this round, which is the same stage at which they crashed out last year courtesy of St Mirren.

Livingston will be aiming to go one step further than they did in the 2020-21 tournament, as they finished runners-up after being beaten by St Johnstone in the final.

They were dominant throughout the competition, with Alan Forrest finishing as top goalscorer with seven, and so far they have been impressive once again in the Scottish League Cup.

Unlike Rangers, Livingston were involved from the group stage, and they finished second in that, coming one point behind Raith Rovers.

The Lions then scraped through the second round by defeating St Mirren, with a penalty shootout being needed to settle the difference after a 1-1 draw.

Before this weekend, that was the last time David Martindale's team had won a match as they then went three games without one - however, they got back to winning ways on Saturday with an impressive performance against Celtic.

Livingston won the game 1-0, which was their first victory in the league this season, with Andrew Shinnie's goal providing the perfect momentum for his team heading into Wednesday.

Rangers Scottish League Cup form:

Rangers form (all competitions):

Livingston Scottish League Cup form:

Livingston form (all competitions):

Team News

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos celebrates scoring against Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on May 2, 2021 © Reuters

Gerrard was forced into a major change at the weekend due to Alfredo Morelos suffering a hamstring injury, which is set to rule him out of the game with Livingston as well.

Sakala filled his shoes well, though, by getting himself on the scoresheet, and he will likely lead the line once more, while the Gers could also be missing Ryan Kent who is awaiting the results of a scan.

John Lundstram was dropped out of the team for the draw against Motherwell on Saturday, but after Rangers failed to secure the victory, he could make his way back into the starting XI.

Gerrard could continue to be without Hagi, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, as he awaits a negative result in order to follow the current guidelines.

While Allan McGregor has been preferred in goal over recent games, there will likely be a change on Wednesday, providing an opportunity for Jon McLaughlin to step in.

After such a positive result at the weekend, there is a chance that Martindale will look to keep the team similar against Rangers, with Shinnie likely to be leading the line after scoring his first goal for the club.

Livingston will have the attacking threat of Forrest as well, who has experience with finding the back of the net in this competition, while Scott Pittman could have earned himself a place in the starting lineup after impressing from the bench at the weekend.

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McLaughlin; Tavernier, Goldson, Simpson, Aribo, Davis, Kamara; Lundstram, Roofe, Sakala

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Obileye, Longridge, Fitzwater; Williamson, Lewis, Holt, McMillan, Penrice; Shinnie

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We say: Rangers 2-0 Livingston

Even though Livingston come into this match with confidence after defeating Celtic, it is hard to see them having enough to get past Rangers.

Steven Gerrard will be expecting a response to the past two games, and this could prove to be the ideal fixture to make that happen.

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.

Written by
Matthew Wilkinson

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 67.23%. A draw had a probability of 19.3% and a win for Livingston had a probability of 13.47%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11%) and 2-1 (9.76%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.17%), while for a Livingston win it was 0-1 (4.3%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Rangers in this match.