Rangers vs Kilmarnock Prediction: Rangers must step up

On Tuesday, Rangers will host Kilmarnock with the understanding that securing a victory is crucial if they aim to maintain any pressure on Celtic. Currently, the home side finds themselves eight points behind the leaders in the Scottish Premiership standings. In contrast, Kilmarnock occupies the fourth position, having compiled an extended undefeated streak at the conclusion of 2023.

Rangers aim to bounce back to victory in this fixture following a 2-1 Premiership defeat in their last game against Celtic. In that match, Rangers held 44% possession, took 14 shots on goal, with 3 of them on target. The lone scorer for Rangers was James Tavernier in the 88th minute. On the other side, Celtic had 12 goal attempts, with 5 on target. Paulo Bernardo (25th minute) and Kyogo Furuhashi (47th minute) scored for Celtic. Over their last six games, Philippe Clement's Rangers found the back of the net 11 times, resulting in an average of 1.83 goals per match.

In their recent matchup, Kilmarnock secured a 2-2 draw in the Premiership against Dundee. Kilmarnock held 58% possession, took 11 shots at goal, with 4 on target. The goals for Kilmarnock came from Joe Wright in the 85th minute and Rory McKenzie in the 93rd minute. Dundee, on the other hand, had 7 attempts on goal, with 2 on target. Luke McCowan (35th minute) and Joe Shaughnessy (95th minute) scored for Dundee. Notably, Kilmarnock's defensive efforts in their last six games have resulted in conceding only 3 goals, while their attacking unit managed to score 6 goals during the same period.

Analyzing their recent record against Rangers, Kilmarnock has not secured a win in their last 8 away league matches against Rangers. However, they have been undefeated in their previous 4 league matches away from home.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Yilmaz; Dowell, Lundstram; McCausland, Cantwell, Sima; Dessers

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

Dennis; Mayo, Wright, Findlay, Deas; Armstrong, McKenzie, Watson, Kennedy; Vassell, Watkins

Following his initial defeat as the Rangers boss, it remains uncertain how Clement will respond in terms of team selection. Nonetheless, confronted by one of the in-form teams in the division, Rangers are expected to display a strong performance and secure a much-needed three points. Conversely, Kilmarnock has been an impressive side in recent matches, making it challenging to discount a team that has not suffered any recent losses. Consequently, I am tipping them to score in this matchup.