Hibernian v Rangers Betting Tip 1 – Sunday 22 March 2015

Sports Betting Tips

After being relegated to the Scottish Championship following last season’s play-off defeat to Hamilton, Hibernian were thrown into a division where they were only third favourites to win it and return to the top flight. This was due to city rivals Hearts also being relegated whilst Rangers were promoted by winning League One. Alan Stubbs was entrusted with mastermind that return to the Premiership in what is his first managerial job in senior football. After what was a less than convincing start to the season, they have really found their stride over the last three months. They come into this game having won their last seven in all competitions and are unbeaten in 15 – stretching back to the beginning of December.

It’s difficult to know where to begin when writing about Rangers. Two of the more recent developments are the change in ownership and new board of directors, and the instalment of Stuart McCall as manager. Neither has led to an upturn in the clubs fortunes on the park. Despite being prohibitive odds to win the league at the beginning of the season, Rangers have struggled to find anything like the form needed to achieve that. They currently sit in third place and a massive 26 points behind leaders Hearts. They have won only once in their last nine games, drawing the five most recent of those. Although they have six point cushion from fifth placed Falkirk, their place in the play-off zone is far from assured.

The current manager has attempted to stamp his own philosophy on the club and it appears to be paying dividend. They are not only well positioned in the battle for promotion, they are also in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. The manager has managed to playing winning football in an attractive way and that is evidenced with their haul of 17 goals in their seven match winning run. Their defensive record is also much improved having kept clean sheets in seven of their last 10. Unfortunately for them their Edinburgh neighbours have been scintillating all season otherwise they would be even better placed.

With all the off the field problems that Rangers have endured over the past three seasons it is not a huge surprise to see them struggling to complete at this level. When you consider the size of the club and the resources they have available to them – relative to this level – they should still be in a better position than they are. The mis-management of the club has been biblical and the lack of quality in the current squad is the main reason why they have drawn against the likes of Alloa, Livingston and Cowdenbeath in recent weeks.

This will be the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between these two clubs and that will come as a relief to the Glasgow club. This was a fixture they dominated for so long but they have been on the end of three straight defeats, managing only one goal. Hibernian have also lost just once in the league at Easter Road all season and are in excellent form which is why it’s difficult to see anything other than a home win.

Hibernian 11/10 @ Bet365