Two teams at opposite ends of the Scottish Premiership table will meet on Saturday as second-placed Rangers will look to keep the pressure on Celtic as they welcome Aberdeen to Ibrox Stadium.
The Dons are sat just above the relegation zone right now, and they head into this with a run of nine games without a win, which they shall be hoping to end.
Match preview
© Reuters
Rangers ended their run of three draws in a row on Wednesday by getting back to winning ways against St Johnstone, with a third-minute goal from Glen Kamara proving to be enough, with the match finishing 1-0.
It was the first time the Gers kept a clean sheet in four games, with the defensive performance improving, which is something that Giovanni van Bronckhorst was impressed with.
The result helped to keep the pressure on Celtic at the top of the table, with just three points separating them and the Hoops, which is something that they will be hoping to keep pushing as the title race heats up.
Rangers have been a strong attacking force throughout this season, being the second-highest goalscoring team in the division, with Alfredo Morelos proving to be a threat.
The defending champions are undefeated at Ibrox Stadium within the league this season, which will bring a lot of confidence into the group this Saturday.
© Reuters
Aberdeen are lacking in momentum and belief right now, with the club stuck in a nine-game run without a victory in all competitions, and that has seen them slump down to a table.
After a trio of consecutive draws, Jim Goodwin's side were defeated by Hearts in midweek, with goals from John Souttar and Stephen Kingsley wrapping up a 2-0 result.
This defeat kept the Dons just above the relegation zone, with nine points separating themselves and St Johnstone, which is something they would like to keep at that level.
Despite being low in the table, a victory has the potential to see Aberdeen climb up to sixth, depending on other results, showcasing how tight things are in the division.
Even though Rangers have been dominant this season, they have failed to beat the Dons in their two previous encounters, with both games resulting in a draw, providing some belief to the squad.
- L
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Leon Balogun was brought into the back four for Rangers on Wednesday, and after a clean sheet, he will likely retain his place in the team, with the rest of the defenders set to keep their spots.
Morelos is expected to lead the line on Saturday, while John Lundstram and Kamara are expected to be the midfield pair, with no changes potentially taking place this weekend.
Club captain Scott Brown was welcomed back into the starting lineup for Aberdeen on Wednesday, and his experience could be called upon again as they face the defending champions.
However, the Dons will be without Adam Montgomery, who is dealing with an injury right now, while Christian Ramirez is expected to work as the lone striker.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Taverner, Balogun, Goldson, Bassey; Lundstram, Kamara; Arfield, Aribo, Kent; Morelos
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Ojo, Gallagher, Bates, Hayes; Brown, Barron; Kennedy, Ferguson, Besuijen; Ramirez
We say: Rangers 2-0 Aberdeen
Both teams desperately need points as the season starts to draw to a close, but for vastly different reasons, and the poor form that Aberdeen have right now will make this a tough task for them.
Rangers are hoping that Celtic will slip up at some stage during the run-in, and they shall have to be ready to capitalise on that, which is why they should take the victory here.
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 80.46%. A draw had a probability of 13% and a win for Aberdeen had a probability of 6.58%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.68%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (11.44%) and 1-0 (9.38%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.16%), while for an Aberdeen win it was 0-1 (2.27%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.
