Rangers vs Dunfermilne
13 August 1930hrs
Football – Scotland – League Cup
Pick Rangers win/BTTS
Bookmaker Betvictor
Odds: 19/10 odds taken 2000 GMT, Tuesday 10 August
Rangers have to pick themselves up following three defeats in a week and get back to winning ways against a Dunfermilne team who have started the season slowly.
Table of Contents
Rangers Preview – Will Rangers put recent disappointments behind them and get back to winning ways?
The big objective for this season for Rangers and their manager Steven Gerrard was to qualify for the Champions League and that has been ended at the first hurdle. Despite receiving what appeared to be a kind draw against Swedish champions Malmo and key things going their way during both games, Rangers lost 4-2 on aggregate and must now attempt to reach the Europa League. Gerrard seen his team rescue a 2-1 defeat with a last minute goal in the first leg and then when Malmo were wrongly reduced to 10 men in the first half of the second leg it was a huge surprise to see Rangers thrown their opportunity away.
Rangers also lost their first Scottish Premiership game since March 2020 last weekend when going down 1-0 to Dundee United.
Much has been made about their poor start to the season considering this was a Rangers team who reached the last-16 of the Europa League and were undefeated in the title-winning campaign. Players who were so key to those successes in the previous season are now well below that level and questions are being asked.
There is also a growing consensus that a team who were so comfortably playing in front of no crowds are not coping with fans being back in and the pressure that brings. This was a criticism which was levelled at Gerrard and his players prior to last season.
Dunfermilne Preview – Could the Pars spring a big surprise and inflict more misery on their opponents?
Peter Grant was brought to Dunfermilne with a view to getting the club back into the Premiership. It’s still very early days but the Pars have had a poor start to the new season. They’ve taken just a point from their first two league games. A 2-2 draw away to Greenock Morton was frustrating as they conceded in the final 10 minutes but a 3-0 thumping defeat at home to Partick Thistle will be a wake-up call for Grant and his players. The fact it’s happened this early could be a blessing.
Dunfermilne’s expectation for the season ahead were increased due to how well they performed in the group stages of this competition. The Pars lost just one of their four games to finish second in the section behind St Mirren (who were responsible for that loss). Grant’s men were far too good for lower league opponents Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir whilst they blitzed Thistle at Firhill in their opening game.
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Up until Saturday scoring goals had not been an issue for Dunfermilne. They hit 13 goals in their five games previous to that loss. Summer signing Nikolay Todorov has hit the ground running with four goals to his name. Kevin O’Hara has the same number of goals as he looks to better his first season tally of 11 goals.
As good as they have been in attack there are obvious concerns at the other end. Dunfermilne are yet to keep a clean sheet in any of their six games this season.
Rangers vs Dunfermilne Betting Advice
This could well be the perfect game for Rangers as they bid to find their first win since the opening day of the league season. There’s no doubt there will be something of a hangover amongst the players but Gerrard will likely freshen things up.
The visitors could barely have asked for a more difficult fixture. Former Celtic player and assistant manager Peter Grant would love nothing more than to add to their host’s woes.
Key Facts – Rangers vs Dunfermilne Betting Tip
- Rangers have lost three straight games for the first time since Steven Gerrard took over
- Dunfermilne finished second in their League Cup section scoring 11 goals in the process
- The last time these teams met was in this competition back in 2017 when Rangers ran out 6-0 winners
I expect Rangers to have too much for the Championship team here. Back them to win and for both teams to score.
Best Betting Odds for Rangers vs Dunfermilne
