Scottish Premiership returns following the first international break with Rangers set to make a trip to McDiamid Park on Saturday to face of St Johnstone in an exciting fixture with kickoff at 14:30.
Both sides are fresh from the recent break and will each be eager to get back to league action with both sides aiming for the three points on Saturday. St Johnstone have had a slow start to their campaign as the club has only managed to salvage three points in four matches and although they have only suffered one defeat, they are yet to record a win which leaves them desperate for a win.
The Saints failed to qualify for the Europa league following a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to LASK who proceeded with 3-1 win on aggregate. Callum Davidson’s side will now shift their full focus to the Scottish Premiership where they are still to register a win and are only three points above the bottom of the table.
Therefore, there is need for the Saints to start earning more points and Saturday provides the chance for them but the challenge is that they face Rangers who they haven’t defeted since 2017. Callum Davidson will need to work on his attack if the Saints are to pull an upset.
Rangers meanwhile, will be looking to make three league wins in a row and are fresh from a 1-0 victory in the first Old Firm derby and will be keen to continue their strong form come Saturday.
Steven Gerrard’s side proved to be defensively strong as they managed to hold off Celtic in the derby and have also managed to keep six clean sheets already this season across all competitions, with two coming from the first two opening Premiership matches.
This is a massive advantage for the Gers as they compete against the worst attacking side in the Premiership and Rangers will be confident of maintaining their unbeaten run.
Despite having a difficult start to the 2021-22 campaign with Covid-19 and all Rangers managed to qualify to the Europa League and they currently sit in the third position in the league standings with nine points only a point behind both Hibernian and Hearts, meaning a win on Saturday might leave them on top of the league.
St Johnstone vs Rangers head to head
Rangers hold an upper hand with 36 victories in the 52 matches played against St Johnstone since 1997, the Saints have only managed eight victories while there have been eight draws. St Johnstone are in a poor form as they have not won in any of their last eight home matches with a three-match losing streak.
- Rangers 2-4 St Johnstone 25/04/21
- St Johnstone 1-1 Rangers 21/04/21
- Rangers 1-0 St Johnstone 03/02/21
- St Johnstone 0-3 Rangers 23/12/20
- Rangers 3-0 St Johnstone 12/08/20
Home
- St Mirren 0-0 St Johnstone
- St Johnstone 0-2 LASK
- St Johnstone 0-1 Dundee United
- LASK 1-1 St Johnstone
- Arbroath 2-3 St Johnstone
Away
- Rangers 1-0 Celtic
- Alashkert 0-0 Rangers
- Ross County 2-4 Rangers
- Rangers 1-0 Alashkert
- Rangers 5-0 Dunfermline Athletic
St Johnstone team news
Cameron MacPherson suffered an injury during his international duties and will join Murray Davidson and Craig Bryson to those who are set to miss the match due to injuries.
Rangers team news
Rangers will be without Nathan Patterson as he pulled out of the Scotland national team during the break following an injury he picked in the game against Austria.
Prediction and odds
- Rangers win
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 2.5
