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With the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership campaign in full swing, Rangers welcome St. Johnstone to Ibrox this Wednesday evening. Steven Gerrard’s men are coming off two straight wins in the league, most recently defeating St. Mirren on Sunday. St. Johnstone, meanwhile, will welcome this game after the controversial postponement of their previous match with Aberdeen.
Naturally, Rangers will go into this game as heavy favourites. But can St. Johnstone spring an upset?
Rangers vs. St. Johnstone Head-to-Head
Recent form is tricky to discuss given the 2020-21 campaign has only just started. And before that, COVID-19 forced Scottish football to be curtailed back in March.
Rangers have gotten off to a good start to their domestic campaign, defeating Aberdeen and St. Mirren in their opening two matches. However, Gerrard’s side were well beaten last week in European competition by Bayer Leverkusen.
St. Johnstone, meanwhile, picked up a point in their opening match against Dundee United. However, they found out that their next game was scrapped with just 24 hours’ notice when several Aberdeen players tested positive for COVID-19. Thanks to this, Callum Davidson’s men now face three games in just over a week.
In terms of historical results, it should come as no surprise that Rangers have dominated games between the two sides. The Glasgow side have 102 victories over St. Johnstone, losing the game just 16 times.
Rangers form guide: W-W
St Johnstone form guide: D
Note: Form guide based on the 2020-21 campaign only
Rangers vs. St. Johnstone Team News
Gerrard should be able to welcome goalkeeper Allan McGregor back into Rangers’ starting line-up after he missed Sunday’s game with a knock. However, new signing Kemar Roofe and veteran striker Jermain Defoe are likely to miss out after only just returning to training.
Defender Nikola Katic meanwhile remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury.
Injured: Nikola Katic
Doubtful: Jermain Defoe, Kemar Roofe
Suspended: None
St. Johnstone will be without Chris Kane, Murray Davidson, Zander Clark, and John Robertson, all of whom are injured. Michael O’Halloran meanwhile is suspended after his red card on the opening day of the season.
Injured: Chris Kane, Murray Davidson, Zander Clark, John Robertson
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Michael O’Halloran
Rangers vs. St. Johnstone Predicted XI
Rangers predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Allan McGregor, James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield, Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos
St. Johnstone predicted XI (3-4-3): Elliot Parish, Jason Kerr, Liam Gordon, Jamie McCart, Danny McNamara, Alistair McCann, Liam Craig, Callum Booth, Stevie May, Callum Hendry, David Wotherspoon
Rangers vs. St. Johnstone Prediction
Given Rangers’ good start to the season, this game should represent a comfortable win for them. St. Johnstone will likely be rusty after their unfortunate break in action and are simply not as strong a squad as Steven Gerrard’s men.
With Alfredo Morelos finding his striking boots against St. Mirren – scoring two goals in five minutes – expect Rangers to look to plunder more goals in this game.
Prediction: Rangers 3-0 St. Johnstone
