Rangers face Aberdeen on Saturday, with the Light Blues looking to bounce back from last week's lacklustre 1-1 draw in the Scottish Premiership.
A late John Lundstram goal secured a point against Livingston in Rangers’ last league game, a result that left them four points behind leaders Celtic. A 3-0 loss to Napoli in the UEFA Champions League in Rangers’ last outing cemented the Gers to the bottom of Group A, making it a disappointing few days for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.
Saturday’s clash is a must-win game for Rangers, with a loss potentially sending their title rivals seven points clear at the top of the table. The Gers are unbeaten in their last 11 Scottish Premiership games against Aberdeen, with history on their side heading into Saturday's clash.
READ MORE: Napoli shocked by Rangers as young guns show Gio van Bronckhorst how it's done on European away day
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Conor Goldson, Ianis Hagi and Tom Lawrence will all be absent for Aberdeen's visit on Saturday, whilst Kemar Roofe, John Souttar and Filip Helander won't to make the squad. So, can Rangers get back to winning ways this weekend? We used FIFA 23 to try and predict the score.
Rangers vs Aberdeen score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Rangers squad with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Rangers could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: McGregor; Tavernier, King, Davies, Barisic; Davis, Lundstram, Tillman; Arfield, Colak, Kent.
We predict that the visitors could set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Roos; McCrorie, Stewart, Scales; Richardson, Barron, Ramadani, MacKenzie; Clarkson; Duk, Miovski.
Rangers started the game slowly, and Aberdeen eventually took the lead when Leighton Clarkson stunned the Ibrox with a long-range strike. The goal seemed like a big wake-up call for the Gers as they started to grasp ahold of the game, and they found the leveller 30 minutes in through Ryan Kent.
Scott Arfield found James Tavernier on the overlap down the right, and his cross into the box was met by Antonio-Mirko Colak, but the striker could only glance the header to the back post. The ball ended at the feet of Kent, and the winger volleyed the ball into an empty net to make it 1-1.
Rangers started to dominate the game, and a quickfire double from Malik Tillman sent the Light Blues 3-1 into the lead with 20 minutes to go, making it very difficult for Aberdeen to find a way back. The first goal showed great awareness from the loanee as he latched onto Kelle Roos' parry inside the box, tapping into the net from close range.
A failed clearance from the visitors saw John Lundstram head the ball back into the box, and Tillman was quickest to react as he picked up possession. After a quick turn away from his marker, the American curled past the 'keeper at the near post to put two goals between the sides.
The visitors seemed the lose any hope of a comeback as the game went on, with Rangers comfortably in the lead. And, with one minute of added time remaining, Colak got on the scoresheet to send his side into a 4-1 lead.
On the shoulder of the last man, Colak was picked out inside the box with a chipped pass from Steven Davis, and the striker shrugged off his marker before firing into the top corner of the net to confirm the victory.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Rangers 4-1 Aberdeen
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that despite going a goal behind, Rangers were able to rediscover their winning form as they hit four past Aberdeen in the simulation. A dominating performance like that could be enough for the Gers to put their Champions League blushes behind them.
What do you think the score will be between Rangers and Aberdeen on Saturday? Let us know in the comments!
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