Rangers shall be hoping to continue their impressive season on Wednesday when they host Livingston, with the Gers aiming to maintain or extend their four-point gap at the top of the table.
On the other hand, the Lions can put some pressure on the teams above them with a victory, which is something they have failed to do against their opponents three times already this season.
Match preview
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Rangers continued their dominant season at the weekend when they breezed through into the next round of the Scottish Cup, picking up a 4-0 victory against Stirling Albion.
This result was needed after the Gers drew their first match back in the SPL following the winter break, with Aberdeen frustrating the league leaders.
Despite Ianis Hagi putting them in the lead, a Lewis Ferguson brought the Dons back into the match to earn a point, which was only made worse when Ryan Kent was sent off.
That was the first time Rangers had failed to win in four games across all competitions, and it opened the opportunity for Celtic to close the gap between them.
There are now just four points between the Old Firm rivals, and that is something that the Gers will be wary of, as they will want to keep the Hoops at a distance.
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Livingston also secured their place in the next round of the Scottish Cup at the weekend when they defeated fellow SPL side, Ross County by a goal to nil.
Ayo Obileye's penalty was enough to separate the two teams in that match, which continued their undefeated start to 2022 after they beat Dundee in their first match back from the winter break.
A Bruce Anderson brace was enough for the Lions to get three points in that particular match which was another that brought a clean sheet, with the squad showcasing their defensive qualities.
However, they have struggled when facing Rangers this season, as Livingston were knocked out of the Scottish League Cup by the Gers as they lost 2-0.
These teams have met twice in the league already as well, and David Martindale's squad have conceded three goals in each of those encounters, which is something they shall be aiming to improve upon this week.
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Team News
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Rangers will be without Kent for this particular fixture following his red card against Aberdeen during their most recent league outing, which will force at least one change from that match.
Hagi found the back of the net in that fixture, but he had to be replaced during the Scottish Cup game where he damaged his knee in the first half, and he will be a doubt for Wednesday.
Anderson is sure to lead the line for Livingston once again, and after his brace against Dundee, he will be hoping to continue his fine form.
Meanwhile, at the back it is unlikely Martindale will make a change to his defensive structure after they have kept consecutive clean sheets.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic; Kamara, Sands, Lundstram; Sakala, Wright, Morelos
Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Fitzwater, Obileye, Longridge; Pittman, Holt, Omeonga; Bailey, Chukwuemeka, Anderson
We say: Rangers 2-1 Livingston
Livingston have put together two strong performances to kick-start 2022, which should see them enter this particular match with a lot of confidence.
However, Rangers have dominated the Lions three times this season, and considering the quality that they have in their squad, the Gers should be able to take another three points.
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 89.28%. A draw had a probability of 8.2% and a win for Livingston had a probability of 2.47%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 3-0 with a probability of 15.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (15.09%) and 4-0 (11.69%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (3.76%), while for a Livingston win it was 0-1 (1.23%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.
