Scottish Premiership leaders and defending champions Rangers will face the bottom of the table side, St. Johnstone. Rangers have won six games in a row and have a four points lead over Celtic in the league table. St. Johnstone have lost three games in a row and are winless in their last four games.
Both teams faced each other in the fifth round of the competition. Rangers scored two goals and won by a scoreline of 2-1. St. Johnstone scored the opening goal of the match. A goal each from Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier helped Rangers to complete a comeback in the match.
Rangers had 68% of the ball possession and attempted ten shots in the match. The xG timeline shows that Rangers players attempted four shots in the first half, and the timeline shows a significant increase at the start of the second half. St. Johnstone players attempted only four shots and all the shots were attempted in the second half. Kemar Roofe attempted four shots and had the highest xG rate in the match.
Rangers have scored 38 goals and are the leading goalscoring team in the league. They have the second-highest expected goal rate in the Scottish Premiership. The defending champions have conceded 14 goals, making them the second-best defense in the competition.
St. Johnstone have struggled to score goals throughout the season. They have managed to score nine goals and their expected goal rate is the lowest in the division. Their defense has been a positive for the side as the team has only conceded 16 goals and have the third-best defense in the league.
Kemar Roofe, Alfredo Morelos, and Joe Aribo have scored six goals each and are the highest goal-scoring players in the team. Fashion Sakala scored a goal against Hearts this weekend and is just behind them on five goals. James Tavernier has ten assists to his name and is a threat from the right side. Ryan Kent will once again miss the match due to injury. Kemar Roofe is also expected to miss this match, and Alfredo Morelos is expected to lead the line for the home team.
David Wotherspoon will remain out due to a knee injury. Stevie May and Cameron MacPherson missed the recent match due to injury. Glenn Middleton returned in the weekend’s match and is expected to start in this match.
Rangers will go as the favorites in this game and are the highest goal-scoring team in the league. St. Johnstone will have a huge task in hand when they face the table-toppers. They have the worst home record this season, and the team has only earned six points in nine league games played at home. Rangers have the best away record, and they have earned 24 points in nine games. Giovanni van Bronckhorst will look to make five wins in a row under his management.
