Preview: Rangers vs. Aberdeen - prediction, team news, lineups

Thanks to that victory, the visitors head to Glasgow on a seven-game winning streak, while the Gers suffered a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic last time out.

Match preview

On the day when Celtic could be crowned champions of Scotland for a 53rd time, Rangers will be looking to put in a big performance on Sunday to take the gloss off their Old Firm rivals' achievements.

Of course, Celtic will almost certainly secure an 11th Premiership title in 12 years regardless of what Rangers do between now and the end of the season, but Michael Beale's side will be eager to finish the campaign on a positive note.

Trailing Celtic by 13 points in the Scottish Premiership table, the Gers have lost just four of their 33 league games this season, picking up 25 wins and four draws along the way.

Although Rangers lead third-placed Aberdeen by 26 points, they will be more concerned about the gulf between them and Celtic, who have suffered a solitary league defeat all season while racking up 103 goals.

Rangers head into Sunday's clash on the back of successive defeats, with the loss at Aberdeen preceding a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic, so Beale's boys will be desperate to return to winning ways this weekend.

To say that Barry Robson has saved Aberdeen's season would be an understatement, as the 44-year-old has completely transformed the team's performances and results since taking over from Jim Goodwin back in January.

After taking the job on an interim basis following the sacking of Goodwin, Robson was appointed as the Dons' permanent manager earlier this month, having overseen eight victories in 10 league games.

All of a sudden, Aberdeen find themselves on a seven-match winning run, while Robson's men have kept six clean sheets since their last loss, helping the club open up a five-point lead over fourth-placed Hearts.

Aberdeen notched their seventh successive victory with a 2-0 triumph over Rangers a fortnight ago, despite seeing just 25% possession at Pittodrie, with Liam Scales and Bojan Miovski grabbing the goals for the hosts.

Following a run of nine defeats in 10 away league games, Aberdeen have now won each of their last three matches on the road, so they will fancy their chances of causing another upset against Rangers.

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Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

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Team News

Rangers currently have a lengthy list of injury absentees, as Steven Davis, Filip Helander, Tom Lawrence, Kemar Roofe and Nnamdi Ofoborh have all been sidelined for large spells of the season.

The hosts are also expected to be without Ryan Jack and Antonio Colak this weekend, with the latter scoring 13 goals in 24 league appearances this term.

Malik Tillman and Alfredo Morelos are likely to join Fashion Sakala in attack, with Todd Cantwell operating behind the striker, while James Tavernier will continue to make a big impact from right-back.

Barry Robson may be tempted to stick with the same XI that started the famous victory over Rangers two weeks ago, meaning that Mattie Pollock, Angus MacDonald and Liam Scales will line up in defence.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Bojan Miovski and Duk will continue in attack, having both scored 18 goals across all competitions this season.

On the injury front, Aberdeen look set to be without forward Callum Roberts for the remainder of the campaign as the 26-year-old continues to recover from a muscle issue.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

McGregor; Tavernier, Souttar, Davies, Barisic; Lundstrum, Raskin; Morelos, Cantwell, Tillman; Sakala

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Roos; Pollock, MacDonald, Scales; McCrorie, Ramadani, Clarkson, Hayes; Duncan; Miovski, Duk

We say: Rangers 3-1 Aberdeen

Ultimately, it is difficult to imagine Rangers suffering three successive defeats, as Michael Beale's side are used to winning on a regular basis in this Scottish Premiership.

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