Preview: St Mirren vs. Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

The second phase of the Scottish Premiership will kickstart this weekend with St Mirren hosting Rangers.

The Gers want to keep as much pressure on Celtic as possible at the top of the table while the hosts continue their fight for a European place.

Match preview

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St Mirren might sit 32 points behind their opponents this Sunday, but after confirming their place in the top half of the Scottish Premiership, they will have been injected with confidence.

The Buddies are not concerned about fighting for the title. With the remaining games, they still have the chance to secure European football, as they only trail Kilmarnock by eight points.

St Mirren do come into the game on the back of a poor run of form as they have failed to win in their previous four outings, a period that has resulted in three defeats.

The Buddies have also lost all three times they have played Rangers throughout this campaign, results the team will be keen to avenge.

Steve Robinson wants to avoid seeing the gap in the table increase ahead of them, but he is also likely to keep an eye on Dundee because they are just two points behind them.

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As far as the visitors are concerned, the title race is very much still on. They sit just three points behind Celtic, a gap they will be confident in closing.

The Old Firm rivals have gone back and forth all season trading, which is on top, but with the run-in being on, there is now very little room for error.

Rangers will be aware that they can ill-afford slipping up at this stage in the season. They need to be ready to capitalise on any potential mistakes made by the Hoops, which will start this weekend.

The Gers boast the best defensive record in the division, which they shall attempt to continue this weekend as they aim to be robust and challenging to break down.

After two games without a victory in the league, the Rangers returned to winning ways during their most recent outing, where they booked their place in the Scottish FA Cup final by defeating Hearts.

Team News

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Ryan Strain remains an injury concern for St Mirren, but the Buddies could welcome back Hyeokkyu Kwon, who missed their last performance due to his loan deal.

Mark O'Hara did return to the midfield during their most recent outing, and the Buddies captain will be aiming to retain his position.

Leon Balogun started his first game for Rangers since February in the Scottish FA Cup, but it remains to be seen whether he will stay in the team.

The Gers are dealing with several injuries though as Oscar Cortes, Mohamed Diomande and Ryan Jack are all unavailable at the moment, while Ridvan Yilmaz and Danilo are also concerns.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:Hemming; Fraser, Gogic, Dunne; Brown, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser; Strain, Mandron, Kiltie

Rangers possible starting lineup:Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Sterling; Lawrence, Raskin; Sima, Silva, Matondo; Dessers

We say: St Mirren 0-2 Rangers

St Mirren will want to start the second phase of the season with a bang on Sunday, and that should lead to them putting together a resolute performance against Rangers.

But with the Gers attempting to win the league this season there is no margin for error, which is why they will be seen as the favourites.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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