Rangers vs Motherwell preview: Team news, lineups, prediction
Rangers are looking to get back to winning ways when they host Motherwell on Saturday.
Rangers’ title chances look finished after the 2-1 defeat to Hearts on 21 December, which left them 12 points adrift of the league leaders.
The Gers return to Ibrox against the Well, hoping to pull back some momentum in front of their own supporters.
Ibrox News shares everything that supporters need to know ahead of the 27 December contest.
Preview
Danny Rohl tasted his first league defeat since joining Rangers against the Jambos, and he will want his players to put that behind them.
The Gers had secured a vital 1-0 win over Hibernian beforehand, bouncing back from another Europa League loss against Ferencvaros.
Rohl’s side had beaten Kilmarnock 3-0 before the European defeat, after two miserable draws with Falkirk and Dundee United.
Overall, it has been a tough challenge for the new manager to get the best out of his squad recently, which will give Motherwell confidence.
John Berthal Askou’s side are unbeaten in their last 10 league matches, with six wins and four draws in that time.
Form guide – All competitions
Rangers: LWLWDD
Motherwell: WDWDDW
Head-to-head
Rangers have only beaten the Well twice in the last six meetings between the sides, so Berthal Askou’s side will believe that they can get a result against Rohl‘s men.
The sides played out a 1-1 draw when they met in August, on the opening weekend, when Russell Martin was in charge in Govan.
The visitors secured a 2-1 victory at Ibrox last season in March, after holding the Gers to a 2-2 draw at home in December 2024.
The Light Blues’ last win in the fixture came in November 2024, when they beat the Well 2-1 in the League Cup semi-final.
The Bears won the meeting in G51 in August 2024 with a 2-1 scoreline, but Motherwell got the better of them by the same margin in March 2024.
Team news and predicted lineups
Rangers will be without John Souttar, who has returned to training but will not be ready to make a return in this contest.
Derek Cornelius, Oliver Antman and Nedim Bajrami will also be absent through injury, and Nasser Djiga is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The visitors have Tawanda Maswanhise also at the tournament, while Filip Stuparevic, Sam Nicholson, Eseosa Sule and Aston Oxborough are also out through injury.
The clash is also expected to come too soon for Zach Robinson and Jordan McGhee.
Rangers predicted XI: Butland; Sterling, Fernandez, Nsiala, Meghoma; Barron, Raskin; Moore, Aasgaard, Gassama; Chermiti
Motherwell predicted XI: Ward; Longelo, Welsh, McGinn, Koutroumbis; Watt, Fadinger; Charles-Cook, Just, Slattery; Hendry
Prediction: Rangers 1-1 Motherwell
Rangers just are not getting the results at the moment, and it is doubtful that they can overcome one of the league’s form sides.
They should expect to come away with a point after a tough afternoon against Berthal Askou’s charges, especially given their own recent form.
The Gers have looked far too shaky at the back, and struggle to score, so it is hard to see anything but the draw.
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