St Johnstone v Rangers: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Rangers have already beaten St Johnstone twice this season at two different venues and will be confident of completing the hat-trick on Sunday.

The Gers beat the Saints 2-0 at Hampden Park in the League Cup in August, 2-0 at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership in October and are 4/11 to make it three out of three at McDiarmid Park.

St Johnstone v Rangers betting tips and predictions

Rangers win & both teams not to score - 11/8

The Thursday night-Sunday afternoon fixture double has tripped up many a club, but Rangers must be looking forward immensely to their visit to St Johnstone just three days after thrashing Nice in the UEFA Europa League.

Adrenaline alone should get Philippe Clement's men through their weekend challenge in Perth, as they endeavour to replicate a fabulous performance in the south of France.

Their trip to Nice was their toughest test yet in the UEFA Europa League, yet they made the French side look like amateurs in a stunning 4-1 win which moved them into the top eight in the group stage.

It's hard to imagine Saints defending quite as calamitously as Nice did, but they do boast a terrible recent record against the Gers.

Even if this isn't a vintage Rangers, the visitors should still be too strong in Perth.

While they don't represent much betting value to win at 4/11, the 11/8 for the visitors to win with a clean sheet does look attractive.

After all, Rangers and Saints have met twice this season already, once in the League Cup, once in the Premiership, and the Gers won both games 2-0.

Last season the two sides met three times and again the Glasgow giants won all three meetings without conceding a single goal.

In fact Gers have delivered 10 wins to nil in their last 11 meetings with St Johnstone, a level of dominance which is hard to ignore.

It's true that Rangers are struggling to replicate their European form domestically, last Saturday's fairly awful 1-1 draw with Dundee United a case in point, while they have lost three away games this term, at Celtic, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

But the hosts are struggling. They were before new boss Simo Valakari took over and, with three defeats in their last four, things obviously haven't improved.

Their four wins this season have all been against bottom-half sides and they have conceded more goals than anyone else in the division.

Vaclav Cerny anytime scorer - 2/1

Vaclav Cerny has scored two goals in the last week and can make it three in three by finding the net at McDiarmid Park.

Cerny has a soft spot for St Johnstone, having scored both goals against the Perth outfit in October's 2-0 win at Ibrox against the Saints in the league.

The loanee from Bundesliga club Wolfsburg has now bagged eight goals this term, culminating in the opener in Nice on Thursday.

During that match the Czech international had a couple of shies at goal, while last Saturday he had six of Rangers' 29 efforts in the 1-1 draw against Dundee United, converting one.

Only Celtic fire off more shots than the Gers and presuming they pile up the efforts in Perth, there's a decent chance Cerny continues his good form by popping one in.

Over 3.5 St Johnstone corners - 11/10

When Saints visited Ibrox in the league in early October they lost 2-0 and saw just 36 per cent of the ball, yet still managed to win three of the game's 10 corners.

At home, where they are averaging 5.7 corners per game and even managed to muster three in a 6-0 drubbing by Celtic in September, they should be taken to bag at least four.

Rangers concede 4.8 corners per game this season and are a long way from the dominant force they were not so long ago.

Read more football betting tips and predictions on site

St Johnstone v Rangers odds

St Johnstone - 5/1
Draw - 5/1
Rangers - 4/11

View the full market and more odds for St Johnstone v Rangers on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.