Both Rangers and Aberdeen will do battle this Sunday in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park, with the winner set to take on either Celtic or Kilmarnock in the final.
Rangers come into this one off the back of a victory over Dundee United. At the same time, Aberdeen travel to the Scottish national stadium in good spirits following a win over St Johnstone.
Match preview
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Rangers have begun to put consistent results on the board under new boss Michael Beale and are unbeaten in eight domestic fixtures following a poor start to the season.
Minor tactical tweaks and personnel changes have made a noticeable difference in performances, though they still find themselves second in the Scottish Premiership, nine points behind league leaders Celtic.
Last time out, goals from Fashion Sakala and Malik Tillman granted Rangers a 2-0 triumph against Dundee United at Tannadice Stadium last week.
Clean sheets have been a big part of the improvement seen at the club in recent times, as Rangers have kept three in their last six matches.
All focus will now turn to events at Hampden on Sunday, where a stiff test in Aberdeen lies waiting for Beale and his side.
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Aberdeen look to have come out of a malaise just in time for the semi-final encounter against Rangers and will hope to book a place in the final against Celtic or Kilmarnock.
The Dons sit fourth in the Scottish Premiership table, having accumulated 29 points from 21 matches so far under boss Jim Goodwin.
In their most recent outing, Luis Lopes fired home a double, which gave Aberdeen a 2-0 win over St Johnstone at Pittodrie Stadium in a match that presented chances for both sides to claim three points.
That was a first three points for the Dons since November, in a run that saw Aberdeen pick up just one point from their previous five encounters.
Aberdeen will now prepare for Hampden as they look to reach the final of the Scottish League Cup for the first time since 2018-19, though Rangers will be a difficult challenge to navigate.
Team News
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Rangers will be without Steven Davis for the semi-final, as the midfielder is out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Tom Lawrence is still some way off from returning from a knee injury and is also out of contention.
Ridvan Yilmaz is still feeling the force of a hamstring issue and will be absent on Sunday, while defenders Filip Helander and John Souttar are long-term absentees and are sidelined for the clash.
Ianis Hagi has struggled with a knee problem and will spectate from the stands at Hampden despite his progress towards making a return.
On the other hand, Aberdeen boss Goodwin has no fresh injury concerns for the tie against Rangers and is expected to field a strong team.
Callum Roberts has been absent for most of the campaign and will miss the semi-final as he steps up his rehabilitation phase.
Striker Christian Ramirez is closing in on a transfer away from the club and is unlikely to be selected due to his seemingly imminent exit.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Lundstram, Kamara; Sakala, Tillman, Kent; Morelos
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; McCrorie, Stewart, Scales; Kennedy, Barron, Ramadani, Clarkson, Coulson; Lopes, Miovski
We say: Rangers 1-0 Aberdeen
In a match with much at stake, we expect a tight affair that could go the distance at the Scottish national stadium on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Rangers will narrowly defeat Aberdeen and edge their way through to the Scottish League Cup final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
