Rangers vs Aberdeen Prediction: Back a narrow home win

Live on Sky Sports on Tuesday night (20:00) is Rangers vs Aberdeen from the Scottish Premiership. This is the pick of Tuesday’s games from north of the border.

The hosts could go top with a win, and Frank Monkhouse fancies their chances as he provides us with his predictions in the Betfred Insights match preview...

On Tuesday, the Scottish Premiership schedule features two games, with the best midweek action coming from Govan. Rangers play Aberdeen for the fourth time this season after meeting twice in the Premiership and once in the League Cup final.

Interestingly, the Dons are unbeaten in those two league games, including a 3-1 win at this venue back in September, although Gers did win 1-0 at Hampden to lift the cup.

Aberdeen’s shock win at Ibrox at the tail-end of the summer cost former Rangers boss Michael Beale his job. Belgian Philippe Clement replaced the Englishman, and the club hasn’t looked back.

Victory on Tuesday could send Rangers to the top of the table, at least until Celtic visits Easter Road on Wednesday. But will the hosts live up to expectations and delight their army of fans packed into Ibrox?

Team news

Clement’s Gers start second in the league with 55 points on the board after winning each of their last four league starts. They are just three points off the pace set by long-term leaders and champions Celtic but with a game in hand.

Rangers were last in action at Ibrox on Saturday when beating bottom club Livingston 3-0 but had to wait until the 40th minute to make the breakthrough with new arrival Fabio Silva using his experience to find space in a crowded box. Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell were also on target as Rangers turned up the heat on their rivals.

Aberdeen collected a hard-fought but deserved point in the early afternoon kick-off on Saturday. Led by interim manager Peter Leven, the Dons took the lead when the champions came calling, Bojan Miovski opening the scoring early in the second half with a sublime strike on the break.

Despite having chances to win the game, Aberdeen conceded a scrappy goal credited to Celtic new boy Nicolas Kuhn with 63 minutes on the clock, ensuring a share of the spoils.

Rangers vs Aberdeen Odds

Rangers are the home team with the better recent form and the backing of an expectant crowd. The locals are hot favourites in the pre-match betting at Betfred, but followers of Scottish football know this fixture rarely follows a script. Aberdeen won 3-1 here and drew 1-1 when hosting Gers, despite taking the lead. Another competitive, energetic, and unpredictable 90 minutes lay ahead.

Do you fancy Rangers continuing their winning ways and going joint-top of the league? Betfred customers can back the home win at 1/4, which is sure to be popular in midweek accumulators. If you prefer the chances of Aberdeen, you can back the visitors at a stunning 9/1 or take another draw at 9/2.

Rangers win to nil @ 19/20

Clement still has his fair share of injuries to contend with, but the list is shortening, and the squad is looking more settled, especially in defence. Since returning from the winter break, Rangers has played three league games and kept a trio of clean sheets, beating Hibs 3-0, St Mirren 1-0, and Livingston 3-0.

Aberdeen is winless in its four league games back, drawing 1-1 with St Johnstone, Dundee, and Celtic while losing 2-0 at Hearts. We saw on Saturday that the Dons are always a threat on the break with Miovski in attack, but we will back Rangers to win to nil at 19/20. That looks like the best way to back the home team at a price we can work with, and it’s good enough to take as a single or in multiples.

Tavernier to score anytime @ 7/4

Silva impressed in a new-look Rangers attack on Saturday, while captain Tavernier had a quiet day, happy to concentrate on his defensive duties. He’ll be asked to take more of a risk on Tuesday and help get his team forward. He’s likely to link up with young attacker Ross McCausland, and Tavernier is expected to have a huge say in the outcome of this grudge match in Govan.

Looking through the head-to-head stats, we note Tavernier scored the only goal of the game when Rangers beat Aberdeen in the League Cup final late last month. He also scored in the 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, and we fancy him to net three times on the bounce against the Dons. He’s a man in goalscoring form and loves the big occasion.

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...