Having only played on Wednesday evening, St Mirren and Rangers have had only a short time to prepare for this Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Some of the Rangers’ players with becoming more familiar than soap stars as this is the fourth match in five in front of the TV cameras. They’ve won just one of their last five but that was a Premiership fixture away from home and any mini-slump pales into insignificance compared to the Buddies’ run of six successive defeats.
St Mirren Form
Since beating Dundee in their first game of the Premiership season, St Mirren have gone 10 games without a win and have only managed one draw in that time. Surprisingly that came against Celtic but goal-scoring has become a real problem for Oran Kearney’s team. They’ve managed just five in the league so far and the new manager is still awaiting a first victory. It’s only because Dundee have been equally as poor that they’ve managed to avoid dropping to the foot of the table so far – only the Dark Blues have a worse goal difference. The Paisley side are clearly struggling to cope with their return to the top flight and it already looks as though it’s going to be a long season.
Rangers Form
Steven Gerrard’s team drew against high-flying Kilmarnock on Wednesday and the Killies are a much better side than St Mirren. It is a worry that the Gers have won just once away from Ibrox this season and they were flattered by the score-line in that fixture but their fans will be generally pleased with the progress made under the former England midfielder. That said, Gerrard wasn’t entirely satisfied with his team’s reaction against Kilmarnock after losing their Betfred Cup semi-final against Aberdeen just three days earlier. They have, however, conceded just six times in their last nine matches in all competitions so are generally keeping the back door shut.
St Mirren v Rangers Head-to-Heads
St Mirren have only beaten Rangers once in their last 18 meetings and the Glasgow giants have won 68 of their previous 126 matches at St Mirren Park. Both teams have scored in six of their last seven meetings in the league.
St Mirren v Rangers Current Best Odds
St Mirren 11/1, Draw 9/2, Rangers 1/3
St Mirren v Rangers Predictions
Rangers heavy workload is certain to take its toll at some point but probably against better opposition than St Mirren. The Buddies’ weak attack comes up against one of the Premiership’s most resilient defences and it’s difficult to see the home side making much of an impact. Rangers to Win To Nil is Evens with BetVictor and they are 3/1 with Boylesports to win by two goals.
