Hearts vs Rangers Prediction: In form Rangers to overcome Hearts on the road

Both Hearts and Rangers are hopeful of advancing all the way to the final game of the Scottish League Cup on Sunday, when they face off against each other at Tynecastle in the second of the two semi-final matches. However, being the better side, Rangers will view this as a good opportunity to capture this trophy for the first time since 2011, given that Celtic have already been eliminated from competition. 

Since the Glasgow giants made their comeback to the top division in 2016, Hearts have only been victorious over them three times, all of which came at this very venue, Tynecastle Stadium. The victory in the quarterfinal of the Scottish Cup in 2020, which was won 2-1 thanks to a late goal scored by Liam Boyce, will likely remain the most memorable. Darker memories, like Hearts' loss to Rangers in the 2022 Scottish Cup final, are increasingly common for the club, however, as that was their third final loss in the last four years. The Edinburgh club has not had as much success in the League Cup as they have in other competitions, as this is only their third semi-final in the last ten years. Even though they only have one goal to show for it, Steven Naismith, the manager of his team, will be delighted that they are coming into this game on the back of a win because they absolutely destroyed Livingston in the game that took place in the middle of the week. After suffering losses to Celtic and Rangers, which caused them to fall down the table slightly, it was a much-needed three points for Hearts as it brought them back up to fourth place.

Rangers have been highly lackluster in both domestic cup competitions ever since they were reformed in the fourth tier in 2012. In spite of the fact that they have been back in the top flight and in championship contention since 2016, Rangers have only ever won a single domestic cup, which was the Scottish Cup in 2022. On three other occasions, they were eliminated in the final round. The Rangers fans will hope that the fact that they triumphed against Hearts to win that one piece of silverware in 2022 is a good omen for them moving into this semi-final matchup. Since Michael Beale was fired as manager of the Rangers, the team's morale at Ibrox has improved significantly. In the four games played at home since Beale's resignation, the Rangers have won all four of them. Philippe Clement, the team's new manager, presided over the victory against Hearts as well as the routs of Hibernian and Dundee that occurred during this time period. However, it is possible that it is already too much to overcome, since a deficit of five points to Celtic appears to be insurmountable given how dominant their Glasgow rivals typically are. Rangers' best chance for a trophy may come in any one of this season's three cup competitions; therefore, this match is unquestionably Clement's most important since taking over as manager, despite the fact that they are still in the running to go through the Europa League group stages. In recent years, as well, Tynecastle has been a pleasant site to visit for Rangers fans, as their team has won four matches in a row here with a combined score of 12-1.

Hearts possible starting lineup:

Clark; Sibbick, Kent, Rowles; Offiah, Nieuwenhof, Baningime, Grant, Cochrane; Shankland, Vargas

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Yilmaz; Lundstram, Jack; Wright, Lammers, Sima, Danilo

Rangers may just have the firepower to secure a spot in the final in what is shaping up to be a hard-fought and dramatic semi-final between two sides that are anxious to add silverware to their collection. The fact that both teams are now ranked in the top four in the Premier League makes this matchup an extremely important one because the victor will almost certainly go on to be the favorite in the championship game. Therefore, with the advantage of a better and more robust squad, I will back Rangers to clinch a tough victory on the road here.