Dundee vs Rangers Prediction: Gers struggles to continue at Dens Park

Rangers travel to the City of Discovery on Thursday evening after dropping two points at Easter Road on Sunday. You'll be able to watch the match on Sky Sports with the action set to kick-off at 20:00

Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse previews the match at Dens Park and offers his picks following a correct score winner at the weekend as he takes us through his Dundee vs Rangers Predictions...

*You can check out all of our Football Odds over at betfred.com

Dundee enjoy the home advantage on Thursday when Rangers arrive at Dens Park. The locals hope to pile pressure on an opponent that has won only one of their last four league starts. But Dundee have problems of their own, with two wins in six sucking them down to eighth in the Scottish Premiership. A home win could lift Tony Docherty’s men back into the top six, but they must improve on their recent form to worry Gers.

Philippe Clement watched on as his team followed victory over Celtic in the Old Firm with yet another strange performance on the road. Rangers raced into a 2-0 lead at Hibs on Sunday thanks to a quick-fire double from Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane. But the club from the capital twice fought back, levelling the game at 2-2 and then near the end for 3-3. Rangers are now 13 points behind leaders Celtic and six better than Dundee Uunited in third.

Dundee vs Rangers Odds

Dundee have won two of their last three games but have lost four of their previous six. The home team were last in action on Sunday when beating St Johnstone 3-1 in Perth. The Saints are bottom of the league and have slipped eight points behind nearest rivals Hearts.

It was a game Dundee were expected to win, but they deserve credit for getting the job done in style at a difficult venue. Fancy back-to-back victories? You can back Dundee at odds of 9/1 on the Betfred website and app. The draw trades at 5/1 if you can’t split the sides.

Rangers fans endured a harsh winter as their team continued to lose ground on runaway leaders Celtic. Gers did hammer the leaders 3-0 at Ibrox in the New Year’s game but lost to their neighbours in the League Cup final. They also dropped points against Hibs, Motherwell, and St Mirren, losing to the latter.

In their previous four starts, the visitors were beaten 2-1 in Paisley, fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a point in Motherwell, beat Celtic at home, and threw away a two-goal advantage to draw with Hibs. A woeful run on the road means they’re unlikely to topple Celtic this term. You can back Rangers to beat Dundee at 3/10.

Both teams to score

Despite their ropey form, Rangers have had no problems finding the net of late. They scored one goal in Paisley, two at Fir Park, three against Celtic, and another three versus Hibs. Igamane scored five of those goals.

The problems lie at the other end of the pitch, with an injury-ravaged defence leaking seven goals in the same period. Captain James Tavernier, Leon Balogun, John Souttar, and goalkeeper Jack Butland are all missing. Clement knows he must find reinforcements this winter, but his transfer budget is tight and loans may be the best option for the Belgian.

Turning our attention to Dundee’s results, we notice that only two teams in the league - Ross County and St Johnstone - have conceded more goals this season.

Dundee leaked one goal against the Saints, two in the Dundee derby, one against St Mirren, and three when they lost at this venue to Ross County. Two teams capable of scoring goals but unreliable in defence pushes us towards a bet on both to score.

Igamane to score first

Congratulations if you followed my weekend pick on Igamane to score against Hibs in the capital. The young Moroccan is in great form and could be a Rangers great in the making if he hangs around in Glasgow long enough. The 22-year-old forward has scored ten goals in his last 11 games, including a stunning hat trick at the weekend.

After landing a profit following Igamane to score against Hibs, we’re happy to stick with the striker. He’ll be asked to pick up where he left off last time, running at the opposition defence and adding to his tally.

Recent form suggests a bet on Hamza to score the game's first goal will give followers a run for their money. If the Gers are to score an overdue away win, they’ll need their young attacker to lead by example.

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...