Rangers vs St. Johnstone Prediction: Back Bears to bounce back at Hampden

Rangers return to Hampden for a League Cup clash with St Johnstone just days after exiting the Champions League. Can Philippe Clement pick his team up for a quick turnaround?

Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse offers his preview along with his Rangers vs St. Johnstone Predictions for the match, live on Premier Sports 1 from 17:45 on Saturday...

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Rangers are back at the national stadium just four days after losing to Dynamo Kyiv in a UEFA Champions League qualifier. A controversial red card for Brazilian wide-man Jefte handed Kyiv an advantage and Rangers couldn’t recover despite a valiant effort.

The Glaswegians return to action against St Johnstone in the League Cup second round and hope to bounce back at the first time of asking as they attempt to defend the trophy won at this venue last term.

St Johnstone arrive in Mount Florida, planning to take advantage of any tired legs and nerves in the home dressing room, but they are the underdogs and know they must be at their best to progress.

The Saints haven’t beaten the Gers since November 2022, but they arrive fully rested and on the back of an impressive win in the Premiership.

Rangers vs St Johnstone Odds

The head-to-head stats show Rangers enjoy a strong run of form against St Johnstone, winning the last five meetings without conceding. The teams met three times in the Scottish Premiership last term, with Gers claiming nine points and an impressive 7-0 accurate score over Craig Levein’s men. The most recent game produced a 3-0 result at McDiarmid Park in February, and that form explains why the home win is 1/7 at Betfred.

St Johnstone finished top of League Cup Group F with three wins and a defeat, which took them through to the knockout stages. The Perth side opened their Premiership campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to Aberdeen in a thrilling match before getting off the mark with that stunning 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last weekend. The visitors arrive with confidence, and you can back St Johnstone at 12/1 or the draw at 13/2.

Rangers win to nil @ 19/20

We will follow the trends for our main bet at Hampden on Saturday, backing Rangers to win the game and keep a clean sheet. Improving the defence is something home boss Clement wanted to achieve in the summer, and he appears to be moving in the right direction. Rangers didn’t concede in Edinburgh against Hearts in the first game of the Premiership season and held on until the 82nd minute against Kyiv despite Jefte’s red card five minutes into the second half. Another blank would be the ideal way to get back on track.

Flicking through the stats, we note Rangers have won their last five games against St Johnstone without conceding a goal. The last scored by the Saints was in 2022 when they banked that surprise 2-1 win. St Johnstone have found the net only once in their last nine against Rangers, and that’s a strong trend worth following. Back the home team to add another win and keep a clean sheet.

Rangers 2-0 @ 13/2

Followers will remember we banked a correct score on Rangers at 8/1 last weekend, and we’re out for more of the same in this Scottish League Cup clash. Take Rangers to win 2-0 at great odds, and we hope this game lives up to expectations. The current League Cup holders will get the job done in style to progress and keep alive their dreams of two in a row.

Recent games involving these teams show Rangers 2-0 was the correct score in three of the last four and that’s worth getting excited about as we hope for another two-goal win. Gers scored two against Motherwell here last weekend, and Saints leaked two against Aberdeen in the Premiership earlier this month.

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...