Rangers vs Kilmarnock

Rangers having an aim to take positions of the first two teams in the Scottish Premiership table are ready to face Kilmarnock at the Ibrox Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The hosts are third in the timber with 26 points from 13 games while the visitor’s teams are struggling at the 10th position with 13 points and only 14 games played.

With Philippe Clement and Rangers going through torrid times in the past few games below par performances were common but the last few games have brought ray of sunshine for Rangers at every corner of Ibrox.

Clement won 27 of his first 28 games managing the Gers but ended the 2023-24 season poorly that added up to 10 losses in the subsequent 38 competitive games.

That meant Rangers has had one of the worst starts to the league season with the Gers already 11 points behind the Bhoys in the league and eight points behind Aberdeen. Recently their form appears to have improved in the past few weeks and Rangers have won four out of their last six games and drawn two, which is the best streak of form they have had since February.

However, Rangers are still 11 points behind the league leaders Celtic, even if the Bhoys have 37 points in their 13 games while the Rangers are on 26 It means though that the Rangers do have the chance of closing the gap on second placed Aberdeen who are only 7 points in front of the Gers but have played 14 games.

Clement’s outfit should be confident of getting the three points and move closer to Aberdeen when they come up against a Kilmarnock side which is 10th on the log without a victory in their past four games, losing three and drawing the other.

However, Kilmarnock will draw strength from their 1-0 triumph in the rematch in late October, when Marley Watkins' strike in the 87th minute gave Killie all three points.

As Derek McInnes' team struggles in 10th place with just 13 points from 14 games—three wins, four draws, and seven losses—that has been one of Kilmarnock's few highlights this season.

Kilmarnock finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership last season, earning a spot in the Europa League qualification rounds at the start of this term, so it has been an especially dismal start to the campaign.
After losing to Cercle Brugge 1-0 on aggregate in their first qualifying effort, McInnes's squad was relegated to the Conference League qualifiers, where they first defeated Tromso IL 3-2 on aggregate before losing to Copenhagen (3-1) in the playoff round.

Kilmarnock had a similarly lackluster league debut, dropping their first three games and drawing the following three, leaving them winless in six straight Scottish Premiership games.

Their next games saw a rapid improvement in their form, as they defeated Dundee 3-2, Rangers 1-0, and Hearts 2-1 in four games. They also lost 2-1 to Ross County, but now they are in a four-game losing streak with three losses and a draw.

Despite having a game in hand over their rivals, McInnes' team is now only three points ahead of Hearts in last place and one point ahead of Hibernian in the relegation playoff slot.

The return of Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo, and Tom Lawrence in the upcoming games should help Rangers, who will be without Neraysho Kasanwirjo until the new year due to a knee injury sustained late last month.

Both Stuart Findlay and Kyle Magennis have been ruled out for the visitors; the latter is not anticipated to return to action until late January because of an ankle ailment.

Kilmarnock's 1-1 draw with Dundee in their most recent game broke a run of three straight defeats, and a generally positive showing might lead to McInnes selecting the same squad here.