The hosts are one of seven teams fighting for a place in the top half when the Scottish Premiership splits after this weekend, but they must win to stand any chance.

Match preview

St Mirren's Conor McCarthy in action with Celtic's Jota on March 2, 2022 © Reuters

St Mirren might be currently sitting above the relegation zone in 10th place, but they do have a chance of finishing this weekend in the top half, showcasing just how close the division is.

With the Scottish Premiership set to split after this round of games, it is now or never for the Buddies, and only a victory will suffice.

The club will still be relying on other results to go in their favour, but defeating Rangers for the first time this season would give them a fighting chance.

However, Steve Robinson's team head into this match on the back of three consecutive defeats which have seen them concede 10 goals.

Despite those results, the Buddies still boast the fourth-best away record in the entire division, having picked up at least a point in 10 of their 17 fixtures.

Rangers' Scott Arfield celebrates after the match with teammates on March 17, 2022 © Reuters

On the flip side, Rangers have made Ibrox Stadium a fortress this season in the Scottish Premiership, and they have only lost once all season in front of their home support.

However, that defeat did take place the last time the Gers played there, when they lost the Old Firm derby against Celtic 2-1, despite Aaron Ramsey giving them a third-minute lead.

That result allowed the Hoops to extend their gap at the top to six points, and now Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men are playing catch up.

Rangers followed that up with another loss in midweek at the hands of Braga in the Europa League quarter-finals, being beaten 1-0 in the first leg.

However, with two victories over St Mirren already this season, the Gers clearly know how to get a result against their opponents on Saturday.

St Mirren Scottish Premiership form:

St Mirren form (all competitions):

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:

Rangers form (all competitions):

Team News

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst during the match on March 17, 2022 © Reuters

St Mirren will still be without Jak Alnwick this week following his recent red card, which means Dean Lyness should retain his place in goal for the Buddies.

Jordan Jones was back in their most recent outing though, returning from injury and being put straight back into the starting lineup.

Rangers were recently dealt a major injury blow as Alfredo Morelos has been ruled out for the rest of this campaign with a thigh issue, which is a huge loss to their attacking options.

The striker is not the only player Van Bronckhorst is missing either, as Alex Lowry and Ianis Hagi have also been on the sidelines as of late.

On-loan midfielder Ramsey has hit form at the right time, and he will likely return to the starting lineup after a break in midweek.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Lyness; Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy, Tait; Erhahon, Power, Ronan; Jones, Henderson, Brophy

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Bassey; Ramsey, Lundstram, Kamara; Arfield, Kent, Sakala

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We say: St Mirren 1-2 Rangers

Rangers do not head into this match in the best of form, but even with their recent hiccups, they should still have enough quality to secure three points on Saturday.

The Gers need a win in order to keep up the pressure on Celtic, and even though St Mirren will provide a tough test, it likely will not be enough for the hosts.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 57.89%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for St Mirren had a probability of 19.54%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.17%) and 1-2 (9.89%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.71%), while for a St Mirren win it was 1-0 (5.8%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.