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St Mirren logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 34
Apr 28, 2024 at 12.30pm UK
The Smisa Stadium
Rangers logo

St Mirren
1 - 2
Rangers

Mandron (37')
Gogic (78')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Bolton (32' og.), Dessers (74')
Butland (85')

Preview: St Mirren vs. Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash between St Mirren and Rangers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

The second phase of the Scottish Premiership will kick-start this weekend with St Mirren hosting Rangers.

The Gers want to keep as much pressure on Celtic as possible at the top of the table, while the hosts continue their fight for a European place.


Match preview

Motherwell boss Steve Robinson pictured in November 2019© Reuters

St Mirren might sit 32 points behind their opponents heading into Sunday's game, but after confirming their place in the top half of the Scottish Premiership, they will have been injected with confidence.

The Buddies may not be concerned about fighting for the title, but with the remaining games, they still have the chance to secure European football, as they only trail Kilmarnock by eight points.

St Mirren come into the game on the back of a poor run of form, as they have failed to win in their previous four outings, a period that has resulted in three defeats.

The Buddies have also lost all three times they have played Rangers throughout this campaign, results the team will be keen to avenge.

Steve Robinson wants to avoid seeing the gap in the table increase ahead of them, but he is also likely to keep an eye on Dundee because they are just two points behind them.

Rangers' Cyriel Dessers celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 21, 2024© Reuters

As far as the visitors are concerned, the title race is very much still on. They sit just three points behind Celtic, a gap they will be confident of closing.

The Old Firm rivals have gone back and forth all season at the Scottish Premiership summit, but with only five games remaining, there is now very little room for error.

Rangers will be aware they can ill-afford slipping up at this stage in the season. They need to be ready to capitalise on any potential mistakes made by the Hoops, which will start this weekend.

The Gers boast the best defensive record in the division, which they shall attempt to continue this weekend as they aim to be robust and challenging to break down.

After two games without a victory in the league, the Rangers returned to winning ways during their most recent outing, where they booked their place in the Scottish FA Cup final by defeating Hearts.

St Mirren Scottish Premiership form:

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:


Rangers form (all competitions):



Team News

Rangers' Todd Cantwell in action with Hearts' Beni Baningime and Cameron Devlin on April 21, 2024© Reuters

Ryan Strain remains an injury concern for St Mirren, but the Buddies could welcome back Hyeokkyu Kwon, who missed their last performance due to his loan deal.

Mark O'Hara did return to the midfield during their most recent outing and the Buddies captain will be aiming to retain his position.

Leon Balogun started his first game for Rangers since February in the Scottish Cup, but it remains to be seen whether he will stay in the team.

The Gers are dealing with several injuries, though, as Oscar Cortes, Mohamed Diomande and Ryan Jack are all unavailable at the moment, while Ridvan Yilmaz and Danilo are also concerns.


St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Hemming; Fraser, Gogic, Dunne; Brown, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser; Strain, Mandron, Kiltie

Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Sterling; Lawrence, Raskin; Sima, Silva, Matondo; Dessers



SM words green background

We say: St Mirren 0-2 Rangers

St Mirren will want to start the second phase of the season with a bang on Sunday and that should lead to them putting together a resolute performance against Rangers.

However, with the Gers attempting to win the league this season, there is no margin for error, which is why they will be seen as the favourites.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




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Written by
Matthew Wilkinson

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Game History

How you voted: St Mirren vs Rangers

St Mirren
9.4%
Draw
3.1%
Rangers
87.5%
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1514104444043
2Aberdeen16104230181234
3RangersRangers1510232791832
4Motherwell168172226-425
5Dundee UnitedDundee Utd166642519624
6St Mirren176382228-621
7Dundee165472729-219
8Kilmarnock174581834-1617
9Hibernian173682129-815
10Ross County173681333-2015
11St Johnstone1742112032-1214
12Hearts1734101826-813


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