- 1 Rangers vs Kilmarnock: McInnes’ revival meets a bottom side that’s stopped losing
- 2 Rangers: two Old Firm wins and a habit of winning by the odd goal
- 3 Kilmarnock: 14 conceded in four games, then three straight without defeat
- 4 Free Football Prediction: Rangers vs Kilmarnock
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Rangers vs Kilmarnock: McInnes’ revival meets a bottom side that’s stopped losing 
Six weeks ago, Rangers looked like a club in a mess. Derek McInnes had lost two and drawn two of his first four games, and the Europa League qualifiers were already gone. Now they’ve won eight of their last nine, beaten Celtic twice in a fortnight, and sit just two points off the top.
Kilmarnock arrive at Ibrox on Saturday (kick-off 16:00 Paris time) in a very different place. Bottom of the Scottish Premiership with five points from seven games, they lost their first four league matches and shipped 14 goals doing it.
And yet the visitors aren’t quite the soft touch the table suggests. Neil McCann’s side are unbeaten in their last three league outings: a 0-0 draw with Aberdeen, a 1-0 win at Hibernian and a 1-1 draw with Hearts that was only snatched from them in the 86th minute.
That’s the interesting part of this fixture. Rangers have the form, the confidence and the squad. Kilmarnock have finally found some organisation. Which one gives?
History offers a clue. Killie haven’t won any of their last five meetings with Rangers, and the gap in resources between the two clubs has rarely looked wider than it does right now.
There’s an added incentive for the hosts, too. Celtic don’t play until Sunday against Motherwell, so a win here sends Rangers top of the table, at least for a night. McInnes won’t need to remind anyone of that.
Rangers: two Old Firm wins and a habit of winning by the odd goal 
The turnaround started with a 5-1 win over St Mirren in the League Cup. Since then, the results have kept coming, and the two before the break were the ones that won the fans over: a 3-0 hammering of Celtic in the League Cup quarter-final, then a 1-0 league win at Celtic Park.
Ryan Naderi scored the winner in that second derby. He should start again alongside Kevin Kelsy.
Here’s the detail that doesn’t bear close inspection, though. Five straight league wins since the 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian, and four of them came by a single goal: 1-0 at Aberdeen, 2-1 at Falkirk, 1-0 against Motherwell and 1-0 against St Mirren. This Rangers side wins games. It doesn’t always put them to bed.
McInnes arrived from Hearts after narrowly missing out on the title there last season, and those early weeks tested his credit with the support. The low point was the Conference League play-off exit to Jablonec, settled on penalties. That’s now his only defeat in nine. A League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen is waiting later this month, so there’s no shortage of motivation to keep this run going. The squad looks like it believes again.
The injury list hasn’t helped. Lawrence Shankland, Youssef Chermiti, Jose Cifuentes, Tuur Rommens and Daisuke Yokota are all still out, and Cammy Devlin has picked up a hamstring strain that’ll keep him sidelined for at least six weeks. There’s some good news: James Sterling is back in training after his own hamstring problem.
The defence, at least, has been reliable. Celtic didn’t score in either derby, and Rangers have conceded just once in their last five league games. That’s a solid platform against a team that struggles for goals.
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Kilmarnock: 14 conceded in four games, then three straight without defeat 
A 5-1 home defeat to Celtic. A 4-0 loss to Dundee United. Then 1-0 against St Mirren. That was Kilmarnock’s start, and it looked every bit as grim as the numbers suggest.
Something has shifted since. The 0-0 at Aberdeen gave them a first point, and although they went out of the League Cup on penalties to the same opponents, they followed it with a first league win. George Stanger’s 40th-minute goal at Easter Road was enough to beat Hibernian.
The 1-1 draw with Hearts was arguably their best performance of the season. They were four minutes away from back-to-back wins. That’ll sting, but it also tells McCann his side can compete.
The trouble is scoring. Kilmarnock have managed three goals in their last six league games. Joe Hugill and Tyreece John-Jules will lead the line again, with Greg Kiltie and Erik Ring on the flanks, but chances at Ibrox will be scarce.
Robbie Deas is still injured, so Cathal McCarthy and Stanger are expected to continue at centre-back. They’ll have plenty to do. Is a tighter, deeper shape enough to frustrate Rangers for 90 minutes? It might keep the score respectable. A result is another matter.
Probable lineup Rangers: Pandur; Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice; Kim, Neil, Raskin, Gassama; Naderi, Kelsy
Probable lineup Kilmarnock: Ferrie; Brandon, Stanger, McCarthy, Schjonning-Larsen; Ring, Rice, Lowery, Kiltie; John-Jules, Hugill
Free Football Prediction: Rangers vs Kilmarnock
Our prediction: Rangers to win and under 3.5 goals
Rangers should win this. Eight wins from nine, two clean sheets against Celtic and a home crowd that’s fully back on side make them clear favourites against the bottom club, especially with top spot on offer before Celtic play.
But the way this team wins matters. Four of their last five league victories came by one goal, and Kilmarnock have tightened up considerably. A heavy scoreline isn’t the most likely outcome here.
That’s why we’re pairing the home win with under 3.5 goals. Kilmarnock’s attack has scored three times in six league games, and Rangers have been edging matches rather than running away with them. Expect a controlled home win, something in the region of 2-0.
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