Rangers v St Mirren preview: Team news, head-to-head, where to watch, lineups, prediction

Philippe Clement will be eager to avenge the 1-0 loss against Kilmarnock when his Rangers side host St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday (27 October).

The Gers responded to the shock defeat last weekend with a resounding 4-1 win against FCSB in the Europa League on Thursday (24 October) but simply need to return to winning ways in the SPFL.

Preview

Clement will not have expected a home match against eighth-placed St Mirren to be a must-win clash for his side, but that is the reality facing the Gers this weekend.

The Belgian risks the wrath of the Ibrox faithful should his side fail to beat St Mirren and they fall further behind league leaders Celtic and Aberdeen, with an already daunting six points separating the sides.

Rangers have been a roller coaster this season to say the least, as the side have struggled for consistent form across all competitions.

However, the victory in the Europa League against FCSB will hopefully be the turning point all supporters are praying for.

St Mirren are struggling to find their feet in the SPFL this year, meanwhile – the 4-0 defeat to Hearts last weekend marked a third consecutive loss for Steve Robinson.

Despite the underwhelming form of Cyriel Dessers in front of goal, Clement will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a St Mirren side who are leaking goals in the Scottish top tier and arguably the perfect opponent for Rangers to return to winning ways in the league.

An eight-point gap separates the sides heading into the clash this weekend, which should surely increase to 11 points should all go to plan for the Gers.

Form Guide [Scottish Premiership]

Rangers: WWWWL

St Mirren: LLLWD

Head-to-Head [all competitions]

St Mirren 1-2 Rangers [28 April 2024]

St Mirren 0-1 Rangers [27 January 2024]

Rangers 2-0 St Mirren [3 December, 2023]

St Mirren 0-3 Rangers [8 October, 2023]

St Mirren 0-3 Rangers [27 May, 2023]

Team News

Rangers could be set to line up without talisman Tom Lawrence after he was removed at half-time against FCSB.

For now, the 30-year-old remains in contention to feature at the weekend pending further updates on the suspected injury.

Ridvan Yilmaz is nearing a return to the first team following his thigh injury but will not participate against St Mirren, while long-term absentees Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes remain out but Danilo Pereira is only weeks away from a return.

For St Mirren, the match at Ibrox will be too soon for injured midfield duo Richard Taylor and Conor McMenamin to feature and the Buddies will also be without defender Alex Iacovitti.

Predicted lineups

Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte, Barron, Diomande, Cerny, Bajrami, McCausland, Igamane

St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Tanser, Smyth, Olusanya, Boyd-Munce, O’Hara, Idowu, Van Veen

Where to watch?

The match at Ibrox kicks off at 3pm GMT on Sunday, 27 October, and will be unavailable to watch live for UK viewers but available to listen live on BBC Sport Scotland.

Prediction: Rangers 3-0 St Mirren

Rangers will be eager to avenge the 1-0 loss against Kilmarnock and should produce a resounding performance against St Mirren.

Robinson’s side are struggling in the SPFL and will surely be put to the sword by superior opposition, with the Gers attackers in form after the win against FCSB.

Clement understands the importance of keeping pace with Celtic and Aberdeen and knows anything less than three points will pile further pressure on his shoulders.

In other Rangers news, Neil McCann slammed James Tavernier live on air during the Rangers win against FCSB.

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