Queen of the South and Rangers clash in the Scottish Championship on Sunday as both sides look to continue their perfect record in the league.
Rangers will be fancied to add a fourth consecutive league win but their hosts have already showed this season that they could be dark horses for promotion via the playoffs.
Queen of the South
After losing out to Rangers in the Scottish Championship playoffs last season, boss James Fowler may have feared that his side would struggle to hit the heights of their previous campaign in the current one, but so far, he will be delighted with the response from his players.
They have been knocked out of both the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Challenge Cup, but as far as the league is concerned, they have been excellent, winning three games in a row and only conceding one goal in the process.
Five of their six goals have come from Iain Russell, the league's top goalscorer, and Derek Lyle, and if they can keep the experienced duo fit, the Doonhamers should have little problem in achieving a place in the top four.
Their form at Palmerston Park will likely be decisive at the end of the season, though, with the club registering as many as 20 more points at home last season than they did on their travels.
They are already halfway to equalling their record of away wins for last year, so that aspect of their game has improved, but if they can replicate their performances in front of their own fans, especially against the bigger teams, they could potentially build on their fourth-place finish in April.
Recent form: WWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLWL
Rangers
© Getty Images
When he was appointed as the new boss of Rangers, Mark Warburton acknowledged that his side needed to hit the ground running given the pressure and expectation that goes hand in hand with the role at Ibrox.
Seven games into the season, and the former Brentford chief has got everything that he would have wanted out of them, and with several exciting additions to the squad, the club's supporters should expect more of the same throughout the campaign.
After their narrow 1-0 victory over Hibernian last weekend, Warburton took the opportunity to make a number of changes to his side for the League Cup clash at Airdrieonians in midweek, and although the Gers were playing a team from the level below, they delivered a performance that would have easily defeated anyone at their current level.
Warburton will stress to his side that they can't afford to get ahead of themselves at this early stage of the season, but with 25 goals being netted in seven games, it has been an exceptional start.
Improvements from last season can still be made, including with an away record that saw just nine wins recorded from 18 outings, but if the club continue in this mood, it is hard to see anyone getting close to them.
Recent form: WWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© Getty Images
Warburton made five changes to his starting lineup for the Scottish League Cup in midweek, but some of those who dropped out could return on Sunday.
Danny Wilson and Kenny Miller are expected to return, but Gediam Zelalem may retain his place in the side.
However, Tom Walsh has been ruled out with a minor knee problem.
As for Queen of the South, goalkeeper Robbie Thomson should feature after showing no ill effects from a severe cut sustained on his forehead last weekend.
Queen of the South possible starting lineup:
Thomson, Dowie, Higgins, Marshall, Conroy, Millar, Jacobs, Brownlie, Harris, Lyle, Russell
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Foderingham, Wallace, Kiernan, Wilson, Tavernier, Halliday, Zelalem, Shiels, Oduwa, Miller, Waghorn
Head To Head
The two sides have previously met on 10 occasions, but somewhat surprisingly, Queen of the South have held their own against their more illustrious opponents.
Rangers dominated many of their first five encounters, winning four of them, but over the past five fixtures, Queen of the South have only lost once to the Glasgow giants.
Unfortunately, that one defeat came at home in the Scottish Championship playoffs and proved pivotal in their failure to earn promotion.
We say: Queen of the South 1-3 Rangers
Despite Queen of the South matching Rangers in the league so far, they may struggle to stop the Gers recording an eighth straight success. Rangers look increasingly impressive under the guidance of Warburton and it is hard to see the home side being able to restrict the quality that they have at their disposal in attack.
No Data Analysis info
