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

Rangers and Aberdeen will meet in the first of two consecutive Scottish Premiership clashes when they meet at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Gers are third in the standings with 38 points from 20 games, while the Dons are eighth with 25 points from 20 league fixtures.

Match preview

Rangers experienced a simply disastrous start to the 2025-26 campaign under Russell Martin, but the Gers have appeared to start finding their best form under new boss Danny Rohl.

Martin led the Gers to a miserable one win, four draws and one defeat from their first seven Scottish Premiership matches before eventually being dismissed from his role.

After another draw with Dundee United under interim management, Rohl has joined the club and subsequently overseen a significantly stronger run of results in the league.

Rangers have won nine, drawn two and lost only one of their 12 Scottish Premiership fixtures under the German boss, rapidly rising up the table to third in the standings with 38 points, only behind second-placed Celtic on goal difference and six points behind the league leaders Hearts.

Off the back of a particularly impressive 3-1 win over their Old Firm rivals at the weekend, which marked their third straight win, the Gers will be looking to make it four consecutive victories and hope to further close the gap on the current league leaders.

The Gers come up against Aberdeen at an ideal time, with the Dons enduring a dismal five-game winless run across all competitions, featuring four defeats and one draw.

Aberdeen's campaign has been underlined by inconsistency and disappointing runs such as their current form, including a particularly difficult start to the term in which the Dons lost five and drew one of their first six league games.

Despite initially bouncing back with seven wins, two draws and one loss in their next 10 league outings, they have subsequently embarked on their current run of three defeats and one draw, as well as a loss to Sparta Praha in their final Conference League game.

Their league results, seven wins, four draws and nine losses, leave them with 25 points and placed eighth in the standings, narrowly two points below sixth-placed Falkirk.

Jimmy Thelin will be eager for his side to end their ongoing winless streak and avoid falling any further behind the top six, but their recent history in this fixture suggests they may struggle to take all three points.

The Dons have won only one of their last seven games against Rangers across all competitions, alongside four defeats and two draws.

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

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Rangers form (all competitions):

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Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

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Aberdeen form (all competitions):

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Team News

Rangers are without the availability of Bailey Rice, Derek Cornelius, Nedim Bajrami and Oliver Antman due to injury problems, while Nasser Djiga is unavailable due to his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.

After a fantastic second-half performance to come from 1-0 down and beat Celtic 3-1, Rohl could name a similar side that started in that second period.

Mohammed Diomande replaced Thelo Aasgaard at the start of the second 45 minutes, and that change could be made from the start in this one, while the rest of the side is likely to remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen are without Adil Aouchiche, Gavin Molloy and Kristers Tobers are ruled out through injury.

Sivert Heltne Nilsen could replace Aouchiche to start alongside Stuart Armstrong in midfield, while an attack of Kenan Bilalovic, Jesper Karlsson, Topi Keskinen and Kevin Nisbet could start.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Sterling, Souttar, Fernandez, Meghoma; Barron, Raskin, Diomande; Gassama, Chermiti, Moore

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Shinnie; Armstrong, Nilsen; Bilalovic, Karlsson, Keskinen; Nisbet

We say: Rangers 2-0 Aberdeen

While Rangers are enjoying a strong run of results, Aberdeen's form has nosedived in recent weeks, and combined with the Gers' impressive record in this fixture, we are backing the hosts to claim all three points.

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