Rangers v St Mirren preview: Team news, head-to-head, line-ups, where to watch
Rangers welcome St Mirren to Ibrox on Saturday with Philippe Clement’s side looking to make it six Scottish Premiership victories on the bounce.
Having recovered from their embarrassing Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park at Ibrox the weekend prior, Rangers bounced back with a 3-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle to return to winning ways.
Clement‘s side were certainly given a helping hand (or two) by Jam Tarts defender Jamie McCart, whose brace of own-goals made all the difference for the Gers either side of Vaclav Cerny’s second-half strike.
Although they remain 13 points behind Celtic in the Premiership table and out of the Scottish Cup ahead of schedule, takeover talk at Ibrox could see the entire club approach Saturday with a spring in their step.
Hearts v Rangers preview
Though the last weeks in Govan have been dominated by the fallout of Rangers’ historic Scottish Cup defeat and continued speculation over Clement’s future, the Gers have been quietly building a solid league run.
Unbeaten in their last nine and winning the last five straight matches – all by at least two goals – has ensured that they’ve avoided slipping further behind runaway leaders Celtic at the summit.
Winning games, however, is to be expected at Ibrox, and given Rangers’ winning run has been matched by their Old Firm rivals to maintain a 13-point gap, it counts for little in the eyes of an expectant fanbase.
Despite this, they face a St Mirren side who have won just once in their last seven league games, losing five, winning and drawing once apiece – albeit with two victories, one on penalties, in the Scottish Cup.
Form Guide (Scottish Premiership)
Rangers: DWWWWW
St Mirren: LLLWLD
Head-To-Head
St Mirren 2-1 Rangers (December 2024)
Rangers 2-1 St Mirren (October 2024)
St Mirren 1-2 Rangers (April 2024)
St Mirren 0-1 Rangers (January 2024)
Rangers 2-0 St Mirren (December 2023)
Team News
Rangers came through their 3-1 win at Tynecastle with no new injury worries, having seen Vaclav Cerny once again come to the fore with the only goal scored by a Light Blues player to extend their winning run.
Clement is still expected to make changes ahead of this match, however, with young defender Clinton Nsiala rested following his first-team breakthrough recently and Robin Propper returning to the XI.
The much-maligned Cyriel Dessers could also be rewarded with a start following his displays off the bench in recent weeks – not least against Manchester United in the Europa League.
St Mirren drew a blank in their 0-0 draw at Hibs last time out, and while there’s no fresh injury worries for the Buddies, defenders Marcus Fraser and Richard Taylor are both a yellow card away from suspension.
Predicted lineups
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte, Cerny, Raskin, Diomande, Hagi, Dessers, Igamane
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Bwomono, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, O’Hara, John, Ayunga, Mandron
Where to watch Rangers v St Mirren?
The Light Blues match with St Mirren on Saturday, 22 February isn’t available to watch on terrestrial TV, albeit viewers can still follow to the action via BBC Scotland’s Sportsound from kick-off at 3pm GMT.
Prediction: Rangers 4-1 St Mirren
St Mirren’s 2-1 victory in Paisley on Boxing Day kick-started the run which has ultimately proven terminal to Rangers’ title hopes, as they drew three of their next five, either side of thumping Celtic 3-0.
However, given Gers have been impregnable on home soil – in the Premiership at least – their win streak being halted by the Buddies on Saturday looks unlikely, especially given the visitors’ poor run of form.