THE LOWDOWN
We come into this game after returning to winning ways in the cinch Premiership. Prior to the excellent win against St Johnstone, we lost five league games in a row; a run of fixtures which began with a defeat against today’s opponents at Ibrox.
Our win on Saturday, however, was a highly impressive team performance that moved us up to sixth in the league table.
This is also the second time we’ve faced Rangers in 11 days. We beat them 3-1 at Hampden Park in the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup.
Rangers come into this game on the back of two straight wins against Livingston and Sparta Prague.
TEAM NEWS
There’s only one player back for Jack Ross and that’s Martin Boyle! The Australian international bagged a hat-trick against the Gers in the semi-final and returns from suspension.
Otherwise, Ross has the same squad to select from with Doidge suspended, Magennis injured and Hallberg, Mackie, and Mackay all needing match practise to get up to speed.
THE VISITORS
Rangers currently sit in the top spot of the cinch Premiership with 33 points from the first 14 games of the season. They are four points ahead of second placed Celtic.
They are now under the guidance of former player Giovanni van Bronckhorst. He’s only been in the technical area for them on two occasions but has a 100% win record. He’s in the midst of changing their style of play, whilst hoping to retain their good start to the season.
Rangers have won 10 of their cinch Premiership games so far, drawn in three, and only lost once which was against Dundee United at the start of the campaign. They come into this one winning their next three games. They have also won six of their seven away games this season.
Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala are their top scorers so far this season, whilst Club Captain James Tavernier has arguably been their most influential player with 10 assists.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The last time we met Rangers, it was a Martin Boyle hat-trick that booked our place in the Premier Sports Cup Final against Celtic.
Boyle scored all three goals within 38 minutes, with our team showing hard work, strength and resilience to see out the match.
After the game, our manager Jack Ross said: “I’m immensely proud.
“To deal with the circumstances we’ve had in the past month and to produce that performance against a top team, in a tough atmosphere was just outstanding.”