- 1 Falkirk vs Rangers: two struggling sides meet
- 2 Falkirk: one goal in three games, and it was an own goal
- 3 Rangers: first win snatched on a penalty at Aberdeen
- 4 Football prediction Falkirk vs Rangers
- 5 Before anything else, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Falkirk vs Rangers: two struggling sides meet 
Falkirk host Rangers on Wednesday, 2 September at Falkirk Community Stadium, with kick-off set for 20:00 local time, which is 21:00 in France. Sky Sports has picked up the match for live coverage.
Both sides come into this one in rough shape, though for different reasons. Falkirk are still waiting for their first league win, with one point from three games and an 11th-place spot in the table.
Rangers have four points and sit seventh, which is nowhere near good enough for a club of their size. Derek McInnes needed four matches in all competitions to land his first win.
The European fallout has weighed heavily on Rangers’ start to the season. After going out in Europa League qualifying, they then crashed out of the Conference League playoff against Jablonec, losing 4-3 on penalties after a 1-0 first-leg win and a 0-1 second-leg defeat.
With no European football left, Rangers’ season is now all about domestic competitions. This midweek trip is a fixture they simply cannot afford to waste if they want to climb the table.
Falkirk arrive with a very different backdrop. Sixth in the Scottish Premiership last season after returning to the top flight for the first time in 15 years, they have not backed that up this summer.
The recent head-to-head record also offers little comfort for the home side. Rangers have won 6-3 and 5-2 on their last two visits to Falkirk Stadium.
Falkirk: one goal in three games, and it was an own goal 
John McGlynn’s side have only one point to show from three league games. Two defeats, one draw, and just one goal scored across the run.
That lone goal did not even come from a Falkirk player. It was an own goal by Colby Donovan in the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park.
Before that, Falkirk lost 2-0 at home to St Mirren and then scraped a 0-0 draw away at Motherwell. That point remains their only league return of the campaign.
The Scottish League Cup has not provided much relief either. They finished second in their group with seven points from four games, but were knocked out at that stage.
The injury list is part of the reason for the sluggish start. Aidan Nesbitt, Craig Sibbald, Ethan Laidlaw, Joe Gardner, Keelan Adams, Tom Lang and Finn Yeats are all unavailable.
Up front, McGlynn will lean on Ben Parkinson to finally get the scoreboard moving. That is a tough ask against a defence that has just kept a clean sheet at Pittodrie.
Try it for $0.99.
Rangers: first win snatched on a penalty at Aberdeen 
Rangers finally got their league season going last weekend. The 1-0 win at Aberdeen, sealed by a Lawrence Shankland penalty, was their first Scottish Premiership victory of the campaign.
The opening weeks had been grim. A 1-1 draw at Dundee United and a 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian piled the pressure on McInnes straight away.
The only real attacking fireworks from the Gers came in the League Cup, when they put five past St Mirren in a 5-1 win. It remains the club’s only convincing performance since the restart.
Their European exit to Jablonec still hangs over them. After winning the first leg 1-0, Rangers lost 0-1 in the return before falling 4-3 in the shootout.
In terms of personnel, the picture looks far healthier than Falkirk’s. Only Youssef Chermiti and Jose Cifuentes are out, and McInnes should stick with the side that won at Pittodrie.
Shankland remains the key man in attack. His penalty at Aberdeen was enough to settle a tight game, which tells you plenty about how important he is right now.
Probable Falkirk line-up: Bain ; Strain, Neilson, Henderson, McCann ; Barbrook, Spencer ; Ross, Krauhaus, Fodrey ; Parkinson
Probable Rangers line-up: Pandur ; Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice ; Devlin, Neil ; Curtis, Kim, Gassama ; Shankland
Football prediction Falkirk vs Rangers
Our tip: Rangers to win
One goal in three league games, and even that came via an opponent’s own goal: Falkirk’s attack is the big issue here. Against a side that just kept a clean sheet at Pittodrie, the Bairns could come up short again.
Falkirk’s seven absentees also tilt the balance further, while Rangers are only missing two players. The 6-3 and 5-2 scorelines from the Gers’ last two visits to this ground are another reminder of how one-sided this matchup can be.
The price on Rangers is still decent for a favourite of this size, mainly because their start has been shaky. Back the visitors, with Shankland leading the line and Falkirk struggling to find a way through.
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
_________
Before anything else, a word on our free picks
- What we publish on mathodds is analysis, nothing more. We share an opinion, a current reading of the situation, but never a guarantee. Sport is what it is: unpredictable. A red card, an injury, a random goal out of nowhere… and the script changes completely.
- Let’s be clear: there is no such thing as a risk-free bet. Even when something looks “obvious”, it never really is. And yes, that means you can lose. In fact, you will at some point.
- The best approach is to stay sensible. Bet small, set a budget and stick to it. Do not touch money you need to live on. And above all: do not chase your losses, because that rarely ends well.
- A bet should stay a bit of fun, not a job or a source of income. If it starts taking over your day, if it winds you up or puts you under pressure, take a break. And if needed, speak to a specialist support service. That’s what they’re there for.
- In the end, the responsibility is yours. Reading our content means accepting that risk exists and will never disappear, even with the best analysis in the world.
- Important reminder: betting is illegal for minors and must follow the law in your country. Gambling can spiral fast (money losses, family tension, addiction). Need Help? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. In the UK? Visit https://www.gambleaware.org/https://www.gambleaware.org/.
No commitment from us
Our predictions are not a contract. They have no legal force. Put simply: you cannot use them to demand anything if a bet does not come off.
Information changes
A prediction is always based on what we know at the time it is written. But in the meantime, a team sheet changes, a player gets injured, the weather turns… and the analysis can quickly go stale. We cannot be held responsible for that.
Your responsibility
Before placing a bet, make sure betting is legal where you are. If it is not, that is your responsibility, not ours.
Responsible gambling first
We cannot say it enough: bet in moderation. If you are struggling to keep control, do not wait to get help. We cannot be responsible for compulsive or excessive use of the information on this site.
Legal age
mathodds content is for adults only. By browsing here, you confirm that you are old enough by law to place bets.
About the images…
The Falkirk and Rangers images and logos used on mathodds, including those linked to the Scottish Premiership, are here only to illustrate our articles. They do not mean we have an official link with any federation or sporting body, and we do not claim any rights to them.
Those rights belong to the original creators. If, despite our care, any image causes a problem, contact us: it will be removed without delay.
Our only aim in using these images is to make the reading experience better. Nothing more. No commercial gain, no taking credit for other people’s work.
Leave a Reply