Rangers will be looking to stay hot on the heels of Celtic this weekend when they face St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.
After a 3-1 defeat to Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday, Rangers can at least now draw a line under their poor European campaign, after losing all of their group stages matches. But Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side can't afford to dwell on their recent rests in Europe, particularly with another Scottish Premiership clash ahead.
A trip to McDiarmid Park awaits for the Light Blues and it's a must-win game, with the Gers currently seven points behind league leaders Celtic in the league table. Rangers have won their last seven consecutive Scottish Premiership clashes with St. Johnstone, with history on their side for this one.
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Ben Davies could be sidelined again, joining John Souttar, Filip Helander, Kemar Roofe and Ridvan Yilmaz as out for the game. Ianis Hagi and Tom Lawrence are both guaranteed absentees.
So, could Rangers pick up a win against St. Johnstone on Sunday? We used FIFA 23 to try and predict the score.
St Johnstone vs Rangers 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, Sands, Barisic; Arfield, Kamara, Lundstram; Kent, Colak, Sakala.
We predict that the hosts could set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Matthews; Gordon, Mitchell, Considine; Wright, Hallberg, McGowan, Brown; Carey; May, Clark.
Rangers had an awful start to the game, with sloppy passes and defensive errors allowing the hosts to take advantage and enter the half-time break with a surprising 2-0 lead thanks to a Graham Carey brace. Down by two, Rangers came out a much-improved team in the second half, and John Lundstram pulled a goal back on the hour mark.
As Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara worked the ball forward on the right of midfield, Lundstram made a darting run into the box. Unmarked, Lundstram was picked out by Kamara with a great pass, and the midfielder powered his shot across goal to halve the deficit.
Ryan Kent was extremely unlucky as the winger hit both posts in quick succession, with the Gers coming very close to an equaliser. The pressure continued, and with 12 minutes to go, Fashion Sakala levelled the score.
On the left, Sakala cut into the box and found Antonio-Mirko Colak, but the striker's shot was saved by the 'keeper. Sakala was quickest to react as he pounced on the loose ball though, and the forward fired into the net on the rebound to make it 2-2.
With momentum in their favour, Rangers were looking for a winner to complete the comeback. The Light Blues threw everything forward in the final minutes, and they eventually found the winning goal through Steven Davis.
A corner whipped in by Rangers was half-cleared by the hosts, with a header sending the ball back into the box and to the feet of Davis. As the ball bounced up, the midfielder volleyed the ball towards goal, and a wicked bounce saw the ball jump over the 'keeper's outstretched arm and into the corner.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: St. Johnstone 2-3 Rangers
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that after an awful first-half display, a much-improved second-half performance could see the Gers produce an epic comeback to win 3-2 against St. Johnstone.
A win is needed for Rangers to keep the pressure on Celtic, though the Light Blues will be hoping for a much easier task come Sunday.
What do you think the score will be between Rangers and St Johnstone on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
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