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

The hosts arrive fresh from a draw against St Johnstone, while the visitors travel to Paisley following a victory against Hearts in midweek.

Match preview

St Mirren have begun to run into a sticky patch of form and have slipped down to eighth in the Scottish Premiership table under Stephen Robinson.

The Buddies are without a win in their last three games and have conceded eight goals in the process, which will need to improve on Saturday as they face a difficult opponent.

Last time out, St Mirren were on the end of a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to St Johnstone, as a goal from Nicky Clark on 96 minutes snatched a point for the visitors in dramatic fashion.

Nevertheless, one positive that can be taken for St Mirren this campaign is their home record, which is the best in the division outside of Celtic and Rangers as they have accumulated 17 points from a possible 24 available on their own patch.

Robinson will hope that they can continue this commendable feat this weekend against Rangers, with the opportunity to move as high as third in the table available should they secure victory.

Rangers have endured an inconsistent run of form in the last few weeks and find themselves seven points behind league leaders Celtic heading into their trip to Paisley on Saturday.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has come under fire from supporters due to their recent performances, which has entailed some heavy defeats in the Champions League group stage and conceding ground in the league.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman managed to stave off some concern in his side's last league outing, where a goal from Malik Tillman was enough to edge past Hearts by a score of 1-0.

With the Scottish Premiership set to break off for the World Cup following this round of fixtures, Van Bronckhorst will view this as the ideal time for his players to go away and regroup ahead of the second part of the campaign.

Van Bronckhorst will hope to sign off on Saturday with a victory that could take his team to within four points of Celtic in second, at least for a few hours before the leaders' match concludes.

St Mirren Scottish Premiership form:

L

D

W

L

L

D

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

W

W

D

W

L

W

Rangers form (all competitions):

D

L

W

L

L

W

Team News

St Mirren will be without defender Richard Tait for the visit of Rangers this weekend due to a groin strain which has kept him out of several matches.

Keanu Baccus and Mark O'Hara are at risk of suspension if they pick up a booking during the match on Saturday.

For the visitors, they are still without a host of senior players for the match at the SMISA Stadium on Saturday. Tom Lawrence and Ianis Hagi will miss out due to knee injuries, while Connor Goldson is sidelined with a long-term hamstring problem.

Ryan Jack will not make the trip to Paisley because of a calf problem, while Ridvan Yilmaz will miss the final game before the World Cup with a hamstring issue.

John Souttar and Filip Helander are still scheduled to be out for a significant period, while Fashion Sakala and Kemar Roofe also will not be involved.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:

Carson; Strain, Fraser, Gallagher, Dunne, Tanser; Baccus, Erhahon, O'Hara; Main, Ayunga

Rangers possible starting lineup:

McGregor; Tavernier, King, Davies, Barisic; Sands, Lundstram; Wright, Tillman, Kent; Morelos

We say: St Mirren 1-2 Rangers

In a match with significant permutations in the Scottish Premiership, we expect an open game that will present its fair share of opportunities for both sides to capitalise.

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