No Reprieve For Rangers Against The Hibees

Second place Rangers face third place Hibernian in the early kick-off at Easter Road on Friday…

Form
Back-to-back wins against Alloa then Raith have moved Hibs back up to third position in the Scottish Championship table, although still some way behind this weekend’s opponents and leaders Hearts. It’s also just one defeat in 14 games now for Alan Stubbs’ side.

Dominique Malonga scored the third in a 3-1 victory against Raith to take his tally for the season to 11 league and cup goals, including eight in his last eight appearances. Jason Cummings was also on the scoresheet to end a run of five games without a goal and on to seven for the season.

‘Turmoil’ is a word often branded around too readily in reference to the state of some football clubs. But it couldn’t be a more apt description of Rangers Football Club. Boardroom dramas have become commonplace in recent years, but on-the-field issues have been fairly limited until recently. The peculiar situation with Ally McCoist and the manager’s position finally came to a head earlier this week with the 52-year-old being placed on “gardening leave” and assistant Kenny McDowall taking over first-team duties.

McCoist’s tenure ended with a 2-0 win at Livingston last weekend, following on from a 2-0 defeat at Queen of the South previously.

Rangers have now lost three and drawn one of their last seven.

Midfielder Nicky Law and striker Kris Boyd are the club’s joint-top scorers for the season with nine goals, but neither have scored in any of their last four appearances. Kenny Miller has just five goals for the season.

Team News
Hibs are hopeful of having loanee Dylan McGeouch back in action following an ankle injury, while David Gray’s fitness will be monitored for an on-going groin injury.

Lewis MacLeod hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury against Alloa in the cup, but Marius Zaliukas could come back into contention after returning to full training in the past couple of weeks.

Head-to-Head
Hibs won 3-1 at Ibrox earlier this season thanks to a couple of goals from Jason Cummings and one from David Gray, while Rangers won 2-1 after extra time when the two sides met in the Scottish League Cup at the very start of this season. Nicky Law has scored in both games for the Gers.

Recommended Bets
Although they are deserved favourites, backing Rangers at odds of 21/20 this weekend cannot be advised when considering everything that is going on at the club at present. Hibs at odds of 12/5 looks to be a lot more appealing bet.

Neither side have been short of goals this season and neither are particularly frugal at the back, therefore Over 3.5 goals at odds of 13/8 looks to be worth a punt. With a repeat 3-1 scoreline in favour of Hibs available to back at odds of 20/1.