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

A place in the final four is available for the winner with the Gers attempting to go one step further in the competition this year and get their hands on the trophy.

Match preview

Rangers were defeated in the final of the Scottish League Cup last season against their Old Firm rivals, Celtic, with the club now pushing to win the trophy this season.

The Gers were a seeded team, therefore they have only played one game in the competition so far which resulted in them defeating Greenock Morton, although they had to come from behind to do it.

Cyriel Dessers and Danilo scored the two goals to ensure they would reach this stage, and they will be confident of keeping that run up due to the home advantage that they have this week.

Rangers have only conceded once at Ibrox Stadium in the Scottish Premiership, and after keeping three clean sheets in a row they will have the belief that they can do that once more.

Keeping Livingston at bay would put the Gers in a great position when it comes to progressing into the next round, which is something they managed to do when they met in the SPL earlier this season.

The Lions struggled massively against Rangers in the second match of the SPL campaign, suffering a 4-0 defeat against Michael Beale's men.

Performing in the league has proven to be tough for Livingston, who have only won a single match, which is why they sit just above the relegation zone, but the Scottish League Cup has proven to be a welcomed distraction so far.

David Martindale's men managed to win three out of four of the group matches, with the only defeat taking place via a penalty shootout, which kickstarted the season well for them.

Livingston then went on to knockout Ayr in the second round with a 2-0 victory following goals from Joel Nouble and Cristian Montano, but they will need an improved performance from this past weekend on Wednesday night.

Despite the fact that Joe Hart was sent off early on in the game the Lions were unable to take advantage of Celtic having 10 men as they suffered a 3-0 loss which they now need to put behind them.

Rangers Scottish League Cup form:

W

Rangers form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

W

W

Livingston Scottish League Cup form:

W

L

W

W

W

Livingston form (all competitions):

L

W

W

D

D

L

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Team News

Tom Lawrence dropped out of the Rangers matchday squad this past weekend due to injury, and therefore heads into this game as a doubt.

Dessers rewarded his manager for starting him in the game against Motherwell by scoring the only goal, and that could earn him a place in the team once again.

Kurtis Guthrie is expected to lead the line for the visitors, while Nouble will be hoping to keep up his impressive run of form sitting just behind him.

Bruce Anderson is another attacking option for the Lions, although he did drop to the bench at the weekend.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Yilmaz; Raskin, Lundstram, Matondo, Roofe, Dessers; Sima

Livingston possible starting lineup:

George; Devlin, Obileye, De Lucas; Brandon, Sangare, Holt, Penrice; Pittman, Guthrie, Nouble

We say: Rangers 2-0 Livingston

Livingston have enjoyed a good run in the Scottish League Cup so far, but the Lions might find this particular fixture to be a step too far.

Rangers have been impressive defensively as of late and in knockout football that is something that could prove to be vital.

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