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

Rangers will clash with Dundee on Saturday afternoon on matchday two of the 2025-26 Scottish Premiership season, with both teams vying for their first win of the league campaign.

The hosts drew 1-1 with Motherwell in their league opening fixture, while the visitors lost 2-1 to Hibernian in their first match.

Match preview

Rangers have played second fiddle to Celtic in modern history, including having to watch their Old Firm rivals lift the league title in each of the last four seasons.

The Gers had a particularly difficult 2024-25 campaign, with Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson both having stints in charge as Rangers eventually finished 17 points behind Celtic.

With ambitions of closing the gap on their rivals and ending their dominance over Scottish football, Rangers hired Russell Martin as their manager in the summer, but the new boss has had a challenging start to life for the Gers.

While Martin remains undefeated after six games in charge, with two wins and four draws, some performances have been particularly disappointing, especially their season opener against Motherwell.

After a 1-1 draw on the opening day, Martin pulled no punches in his post-match interview, questioning his squad's mentality and saying some of them have to drop their ego.

Martin went on to drop captain James Tavernier and last season's star player Nicolas Raskin for their first leg clash with Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round for the Champions League, and his changes certainly worked as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

Hoping to see a permanent change from his team, Rangers will be eager to secure their first win of the league campaign when they take on Dundee on Saturday.

Dundee have also struggled under new manager Steven Pressley, with three defeats and just two wins from their first five competitive matches under the boss.

The Dark Blue lost their first two Scottish League Cup group stage games - 1-0 to both Airdrieonians and Alloa Athletic - before beating Bonnyrigg Rose and Montrose, but that proved not to be enough as they suffered elimination from the competition.

Their lacklustre start continued in their Scottish Premiership opener as they lost 2-1 to Hibernian, with the Dark Blue producing a dismal performance with just two shots throughout the clash, compared to Hibernian's 15.

Dundee will be aiming for a significantly improved performance against the Gers, but given they have failed to win any of the last 17 meetings, history is certainly not on their side.

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

Rangers form (all competitions):

Dundee Scottish Premiership form:

Dundee form (all competitions):

Team News

Rangers will remain without Dujon Sterling, Hamza Igamane and Thelo Aasgaard for this match due to injury issues, while the rest of the squad should be available for selection.

Djeidi Gassama has enjoyed a sensational start for the Gers after joining from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, scoring four goals in four appearances, and the forward is likely to start alongside Cyriel Dessers and Oliver Antman on Saturday.

Captain Tavernier may stay on the bench following Rangers' 3-0 win last time out, with Max Aarons and Jefte continuing as the starting full-backs.

As for Dundee, Charlie Reilly and Simon Murray are both not expected to feature against the Gers due to ongoing injury problems.

Finlay Robertson was a rare shining light for Dundee in their difficult opening match against, and the midfielder is likely to start alongside Paul Digby and Callum Jones.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Aarons, Djiga, Souttar, Jefte; Diomande, Rothwell, Cameron; Antman, Dessers, Gassama

Dundee possible starting lineup:

McCracken; Ingram, Astley, C Robertson, Graham, Samuels; Jones, Digby, F Robertson; Hay, Acquah