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

Two teams at opposite ends of the Scottish Premiership table will clash on Saturday afternoon, when Rangers welcome Kilmarnock to Ibrox.

The hosts are second in the standings and two points off top spot, while the visitors are bottom of the table with five points from seven games.

Match preview

Rangers made the decision to appoint Derek McInnes, following his narrow title miss at Hearts last term, as manager following Danny Rohl's departure during the summer.

The former Jambos boss had a difficult start to life at Ibrox, losing two and drawing two of his first four games, including their elimination from the Europa League qualifiers.

However, a 5-1 triumph against St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup second round sparked the beginning of a considerably improved run under McInnes.

Rangers have now won eight of their last nine matches across all competitions, with their only defeat coming in the second leg of their Conference League playoff qualifying round clash with Jablonec, which eventually saw the Gers eliminated on penalties.

Despite the ongoing disappointment of failing to qualify for European competition this term, McInnes managed to gain plenty of favour among the Rangers crowd in the final two matches before the international break.

The Gers defeated rivals Celtic 3-0 in the first Old Firm of the 2026-27 season in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final - setting up a semi-final with Aberdeen later this month - before following up with a 1-0 victory over the Bhoys at Celtic Park in the league.

That triumph cut Celtic's lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to just two points, with Rangers on 16 and Celtic on 18, and McInnes will be looking for his side to claim another three points on Saturday to leapfrog their rivals - at least until Celtic's match against Motherwell on Sunday.

In stark contrast to Rangers' season to date, Kilmarnock have endured a miserable start to the 2026-27 term - although there have been encouraging signs in Killie's most recent outings.

Neil McCann's side lost all of their first four league fixtures, conceding a considerable 14 times during that run, before picking up their first point with a 0-0 draw against Aberdeen on matchday five.

The disappointment briefly continued as Killie were eliminated from the League Cup on penalties to Aberdeen in the quarter-finals, but McCann's side managed to rebound by securing their first league win of the season in their next outing.

Killie claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hibernian courtesy of George Stanger's 40th-minute goal, and they were only narrowly denied a second straight win as Hearts scored an 86th-minute equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw last time out.

While those results were not enough to lift Killie from the bottom of the standings, McCann will be hoping his side can build on their three-game unbeaten run in the league to potentially move away from 12th place.

Kilmarnock will have the tough task of overcoming Rangers if they are to move above 11th-placed Falkirk, with Killie failing to win any of their last five clashes against the Gers.

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

Rangers form (all competitions):

Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form:

Kilmarnock form (all competitions):

Team News

Rangers will continue without the availability of Lawrence Shankland, Youssef Chermiti, Jose Cifuentes, Tuur Rommens and Daisuke Yokota due to injury issues.

Ryan Don Naderi scored the winner against Celtic in the final match before the break, and the striker should continue alongside Kevin Kelsy on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock are contending with the ongoing injury to Robbie Deas in defence, meaning Cathal McCarthy and Stanger should continue at centre-back.

Further forward, Joe Hugill and Tyreece John-Jules are likely to continue their partnership in attack, with Greg Kiltie and Erik Ring providing width.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Pandur; Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice; Kim, Neil, Raskin, Gassama; Naderi, Kelsy

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

Ferrie; Brandon, Stanger, McCarthy, Schjonning-Larsen; Ring, Rice, Lowery, Kiltie; John-Jules, Hugill

We say: Rangers 3-0 Kilmarnock

Rangers are enjoying a superb winning run and will be full of confidence, and although Kilmarnock have shown recent signs of improvement, the hosts should prove too strong and secure all three points.

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