In the Premiership, the second-placed team faces the bottom-placed side as the Light Blues aim to start a series of four consecutive home matches with a win.
Rangers have been on a winning streak since their return from the Scottish Premiership winter break, aiming for a fourth consecutive victory. Philippe Clement’s team faces Livingston, who are struggling at the bottom of the table and haven’t secured a league win in nearly four months.
Clement may choose to introduce newcomers Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes for quick debuts, with the possibility of using them from the bench if Rangers build a lead. The upcoming matches, including this one, mark a significant period for Rangers, where fans hope their team transitions from contenders to potential champions.
This game is the first of three consecutive home matches in February, followed by Motherwell as the first visitors in March. Rangers’ lineup includes Butland, Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barisic, Lundstram, Jack, Cantwell, McCausland, Matondo, and Silva. The substitutes are McCrorie, Ridvan, Soutar, Dessers, Lawrence, Cortes, S. Wright, King, and Raskin.
Livingston’s lineup features George, Donnellan, Carson, Obileye, Pittman, Brandon, Holt, Nouble, Sangare, Shinnie, and Penrice. The substitutes are McGovern, Anderson, Kelly, MacKay, Bradley, Nottingham, Kelly, Yengi, and Lawal. Follow the live updates in our blog to see if Rangers can start this quartet of matches with a victory.In their previous encounter at Ibrox during just the second league game of the season, Rangers secured a 4-0 victory. However, the scoreline might have been a bit generous to the Light Blues, as three of those goals were scored in the last 12 minutes. Rangers faced significant pressure at that time, having lost their opening match at Kilmarnock. In the latest clash, Philippe Clement’s team displayed professionalism and won 2-0 at the Tomy Macaroni Arena in November.Philippe Clement has opted for a significant lineup adjustment, making six changes from the team that began the victorious match against St. Mirren in Paisley last week. Borna Barisic returns as the left-back, Leon Balgoun takes his place in the central defense, and Ryan Jack features in the midfield. The wide positions are occupied by Ross McCausland and Rabbi Matondo, while Fabio Silva assumes the central attacking role, as Clement aims to inject freshness into the team during this busy series of games.
Expressing frustration, Philippe Clement admitted to facing a difficult decision after being compelled to exclude the recent Rangers signing, Oscar Cortes, from his Europa League squad. The Colombian player joined on loan from Lens before the transfer window closed on Thursday, well in advance of the deadline for registering new signings ahead of the Europa League last 16 tie. However, UEFA regulations allowed only three changes to the initially chosen lineup by the former coach, Michael Beale, putting the Belgian manager in a challenging position.
Clement decided to bring back RidvaYilmazn , considering the Turkish international’s impressive return to form, while newcomers Fabio Silva and Mohamed Diomande were also included. Unfortunately, this meant there was no room for Cortes, and both Leon Balogun and Kieran Dowell also missed out. Sam Lammers, who had originally been on the list submitted by Beale, is no longer part of the squad, having returned to Utrecht on loan. Additionally, Jose Cifuentes, set to complete a loan move to Brazilian club Cruzeiro, has been removed from the list. Clement openly expressed the difficulty of making such decisions, describing the experience as painful.
