In their final match of a tumultuous 2021, Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers welcome St Mirren to Ibrox on Boxing Day.
With the season set to be prematurely paused for the mid-season break, the relentless reigning champions will take on opponents who defied the odds to hold their Glasgow rivals to a draw on Wednesday.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sitting comfortably atop the Premiership table as the year comes to a close, Rangers will expect to complete their jam-packed schedule by getting the better of a depleted visiting side on Sunday.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team have now won their last seven league matches to open a six-point gap over Old Firm foes Celtic, who virus-stricken St Mirren miraculously held goalless in midweek.
It may have taken a 71st-minute James Tavernier penalty to separate the sides in the Govan club's last outing, at home to Dundee United, but Rangers still managed to record a fifth successive Premiership triumph without conceding a goal.
Clearly, by building on the solid foundations provided by recently-departed manager Steven Gerrard, his successor has quickly forged a resolute side that look well-placed to retain their title come next spring.
One of only two clubs who voted for the league's festive fixtures to go ahead as planned - with new Scottish Government rules limiting outdoor events to 500 spectators now coming into place - Rangers must finish the first part of their campaign a little early.
With the chance to extend an unbeaten league record at home - and their next competitive engagement now scheduled for mid-January, when they take on Aberdeen - the Light Blues will surely go all in to take three more points at Ibrox this weekend.
© Reuters
Days after one of their most remarkable results in recent times, St Mirren take on their second Glasgow giant in a week when they travel to Scotland's second city.
As hosts to Celtic on Wednesday, the Paisley club started a match they had wanted to be postponed with three teenagers in their lineup, after 11 squad members tested positive for COVID-19.
Largely thanks to the heroics of reserve goalkeeper Dean Lyness, who was making only his third start in over two years, St Mirren somehow emerged with a point after withstanding 31 shots on their goal and having just a 17% share of the ball.
That against-all-odds result will undoubtedly lift spirits in the Saints camp, even if they lie ninth in the Premiership standings - just four points clear of bottom club St Johnstone - and are currently on a 10-game winless run.
Jim Goodwin's men now complete the year with a visit to the irrepressible league leaders, who they lost out to narrowly when the sides met at the SMiSA Stadium back in October. On that occasion, an early Connor Ronan strike gave the Buddies hope of causing an upset, but Rangers still left with the points following a 2-1 win.
The champions were victorious in all three league matches between the pair last season too - winning 3-0 at Ibrox twice and 2-0 in Paisley - though St Mirren were the first Scottish side to beat them last season, in a memorable League Cup win.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Rangers left-back Borna Barisic provided Giovanni van Bronckhorst with a boost by returning to training this week, after he was absent from the squad which took on Dundee United due to illness. Should the Croatia international be fit to start, then Nathan Patterson would return to his preferred flank after playing out of position at left-back last weekend.
Leon Balogun has also recently returned to the fold, which offers the hosts another defensive option, but Calvin Bassey could yet be retained as it is unlikely the former Wigan centre-back will be pitched straight into the starting XI on Sunday.
Van Bronckhorst has reported no fresh injury concerns, so only Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Filip Helander are ruled out, with the latter continuing his recovery from knee surgery. The Sweden defender has been sidelined since September, but is expected to return to action after the upcoming break.
St Mirren, meanwhile, have been severely depleted by the COVID-19 outbreak which struck before the Celtic game, and they had to call up a number of their development team to play in midweek. In fact, they recalled six Under-18 players from Lowland League clubs to occupy the bench, but several men should be back for the Buddies on Boxing Day.
Former Rangers goalkeeper Jak Alnwick should return to the starting lineup at Ibrox, though Dean Lyness starred on Wednesday and would be unfortunate to make way. Teenagers Dylan Reid, Jay Henderson and debutant Kieran Offord may also stand down, depending on how many regulars are passed fit to feature.
Conor McCarthy remains out with an ankle injury, so Joe Shaughnessy will once again lead a three-man defence - probably operating more as a back five - for Jim Goodwin's side.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic; Arfield, Kamara, Aribo; Hagi, Kent, Morelos
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Shaughnessy, Dunne, Fraser; Millar, Flynn, Power, Tanser; McGrath, Kiltie; Main
We say: Rangers 3-0 St Mirren
Another clean sheet and three points double looks to be on the cards for Rangers in their final match of the 2021 calendar, as their opponents are still reeling from the disruption of a viral outbreak and can only withstand so much pressure before cracking.
Saints may have hung on bravely against Celtic, but doing so again at Ibrox - albeit a quietened version - is another matter. Their long winless run will roll on.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 78.36%. A draw had a probability of 14.1% and a win for St Mirren had a probability of 7.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (11.06%) and 1-0 (9.99%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.73%), while for a St Mirren win it was 0-1 (2.61%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Rangers in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Rangers.
