Hearts vs Rangers preview: Team news, lineups, prediction
Rangers travel to Tynecastle to take on Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday.
Danny Rohl’s Rangers triumphed in a 1-0 over Hibernian on Monday, with Emmanuel Fernandez bagging the winning goal.
Rangers currently sit nine points behind Hearts in the Premiership table, and surely must beat Derek McInnes‘ side if they are to stand any realistic chance of catching them.
Rangers haven’t lost away from home in the Premiership since Boxing Day 2024, when St Mirren ran out 2-1 winners.
As such, Rohl’s men will be confident of a result at Tynecastle.
Ibrox News highlights everything that supporters need to know ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Preview
Results and performances have picked up since Rohl was appointed Rangers head coach in late October.
The former Sheffield Wednesday manager is yet to taste defeat in the league as Gers boss, with six wins and two draws on the record.
Despite being all-but knocked out of the Europa League after a 2-1 defeat to Ferencvaros, Rangers were able to pick themselves up with the aforementioned win over Hibernian last time out.
Meanwhile, Hearts are challenging for their first top-flight title since the 1959-60 season, with McInnes’ men now evidently over their November wobble that saw them go the entire month with just one win from four games.
The 2-1 win over Celtic at Parkhead was undoubtedly a title six-pointer, before they followed that vital victory up by beating Falkirk 2-0 on the road last weekend.
Form guide – All competitions
Hearts: WWDDL
Rangers: WLWDD
Head-to-head
Rangers will be out for revenge after losing 2-0 to Hearts in their last meeting on 13 September.
It was a Lawrence Shankland double that downed Rangers that day, piling more pressure on the ill-fated reign of Russell Martin.
It has largely been a fairly evenly contested fixture in recent times, though, with Rangers claiming 3-1 and 1-0 wins prior to that Hearts defeat, with back-to-back draws coming before that pair of victories.
Team news and predicted lineups
Rohl looks set to make a number of changes to the team that beat Hibernian last time out.
Nico Raskin is tipped to replace Mohamed Diomande in midfield, while Djeidi Gassama is backed to come in for Findlay Curtis.
James Tavernier looks sure to make his return to the starting XI, as Nasser Djiga departs for AFCON with Burkina Faso.
Bojan Miovski is also predicted to spearhead the attack in place of Youssef Chermiti, and Mikey Moore should keep his starting role, too.
- Rangers, Hearts and Celtic all have the joint-fewest league goals conceded this season with 13
- Rangers have a better away record than home one this season, with 16 points on the road and 13 at Ibrox
- Hearts have a worse home record than away too, with 18 points coming at Tynecastle compared to 20 on the road
Bailey Rice, Derek Cornelius, John Souttar, Nedim Bajrami, Oliver Antman and Rabbi Matondo are all set to miss out through injury.
Meanwhile, Hearts will be without striker Pierre Landry Kabore due to also linking up with Burkina Faso for AFCON, whilst Beni Baningime, Calem Nieuwenhof, Ageu and Finlay Pollock are all set to play no part through injury.
Hearts predicted XI: Schwolow, Steinwender, Halkett, Findlay, Milne, McEntee, Devlin, Kiziridis, Magnusson, Braga, Shankland
Rangers predicted XI: Butland, Tavernier, Sterling, Fernandez, Meghoma, Barron, Raskin, Aarons, Gassama, Moore, Miovski
Prediction: Hearts 2-2 Rangers
For Rangers, it feels like a must-win game as they attempt to muscle in on the title race. Hearts are looking to entrench their position as leaders, and with so much on the line these sorts of matchups can often end in stalemates with both sides fearful of the implications of a defeat.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be a wonderful game of football, and with Hearts scoring twice in their last two games, the Rangers backline could be in for a busy afternoon this weekend.
Rangers are good travellers, though, with no losses on the road in the league so far this season, and they’ll be confident it will stay that way come full-time on Sunday.
A Tynecastle treat awaits, but the spoils could be shared in Edinburgh.
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