Preview:Livingston vs Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams towards the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table will clash on Sunday when Livingston host Rangers at Almondvale Stadium.

The hosts are ninth in the standings with five points from six league games, while the visitors are 11th with four points from five outings.

Match preview

Livingston were relegated from the Scottish Premiership in 2025-26 but were able to immediately bounce back into the top division as they won the Scottish Championship playoffs last term.

The main aim for David Martindale and his team this season is to avoid an instant relegation back out of the top flight, but after one win, two draws and three defeats in their first six league games, Livingston sit just one point above the bottom two.

Livingston initially had a strong start to the campaign, recording three wins and one loss in Group H of the Scottish League Cup, as well as one win and one draw in their first two league games.

However, Livingston have since failed to win a match in the following five outings, suffering four defeats and registering one draw, including crashing out of the Scottish League Cup against Hibernian in the second round, losing 2-0.

Now aiming to end their winless run and distance themselves from the drop zone, Livingston will look to take advantage of Rangers' disastrous start to the term.

The Gers made the choice to replace Barry Ferguson with Russell Martin as manager during the summer, a decision that has certainly not paid off to date.

Martin has won just four of his 14 games in charge of the club, alongside five draws and a considerable five defeats, marking a simply unacceptable start for the Gers.

Those losses have saw Rangers get knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, suffering a humiliating 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in the playoff round.

That marks just one of several low points for the Gers this season, as Rangers have also failed to win any of their first five league games, leaving them 11th in the standings with four points after four draws and one defeat.

A recent 2-0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final would have provided Martin with hope of his team improving and building on that result, but the Gers were dominated in their subsequent match as they lost 1-0 to Genk in the Europa League.

Still searching for their first win of the Scottish Premiership campaign, Martin will be desperate to secure a much-needed victory, especially with the pressure rapidly mounting on his role at the club.

The Gers do have a favourable record in this fixture, including five consecutive wins heading into this one, but as has already been seen numerous times this campaign, past results have carried little weight in determining their results this term.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

L D L L W D

Livingston form (all competitions):

L D L L L W

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

L D D D D

Rangers form (all competitions):

L W L D L D

Team News

Livingston will be without Aidan Denholm (hamstring), Cameron Kerr (unspecified) and Cristian Montano (unspecified) for this encounter due to injury issues.

Lewis Smith has impressed for Livingston in the attack so far this season, including netting two and assisting one in the league, and the winger is likely to start alongside Scott Pittman, Tete Yengi and Robbie Muirhead in forward areas.

As for Rangers, Dujon Sterling (Achilles tendon), Lyall Cameron (unspecified) and Rabbit Matondo (unspecified) are all out with injuries.

Bojan Miovski is expected to come back into the starting team after a lacklustre performance from Youssef Chermiti during midweek, while Mikey Moore and Djeidi Gassama could retain their places on the wing.

Further back, Nicolas Raskin could partner Mohammed Diomande, who was sent off against Genk, while a similar defence is also anticipated.

Livingston possible starting lineup:

Prior; Finlayson, Blaney, Wilson, Montgomery; Sylla, Tait; Smith, Pittman, Yengi; Muirhead

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma; Raskin, Diomande; Moore, Aasgaard, Gassama; Miovski

We say: Livingston 1-2 Rangers

Rangers may be enduring a dismal run of results, but the Gers are considerably stronger than their hosts and will be expected to secure all three points against Livingston.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.