Rangers vs Hearts: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
Rangers and Hearts meet in the Scottish FA Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon as both sides look to secure a place in the final against either Aberdeen or Celtic.
The last time the two sides met was in the league back in February where Rangers secured a convincing 5-0 win at Ibrox. Kickoff is set for 3pm UK time at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
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Rangers
Rangers come into this game on poor form by their high standards, only winning one game in their past five in the league, the latest being a 0-0 draw away against Dundee on Wednesday evening.
Philippe Clement’s side made it to the semi-final after a 2-0 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road at the start of March after goals from John Lundstram and Fabio Silva.
Rangers have conceded six goals in their past three league matches, despite having only conceded 17 goals all season in the league prior, a worrying stat for their manager going into the game their semi-final this weekend.
Despite this their attacking form has been exceptional, scoring 72 goals so far this season in the league. Wednesday's match was only the second time Clement’s side have failed to score in a match. This results in the Glaswegian side averaging 2.2 goals per game, which they will hope to transfer over to the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
It is comical to point out that their goal threat in the past five games has come from captain and defender, James Tavernier, who has scored four goals in his past five games for the club.
Hearts
Hearts come into this game in considerably better form, winning three of their last five games in the Scottish Premiership. They most recently came from 2-0 down against Livingston to win 4-2 at Tynecastle on Saturday.
Steven Naismith’s men secured their place in this year’s Scottish FA Cup semi-final with a 1-0 win over Morton, a surprisingly difficult outing for his side despite the gulf in quality between the two teams.
The Edinburgh outfit have scored 46 goals in in the 33 games played so far this season in the league, considerably less than their opponents on Sunday, and have averaged 1.4 goals per game.
Looking at the other end of the pitch, they have conceded 34 goals in the 33 games in the league so far, keeping clean sheets in 39% of their games. Two of these came against Scottish league leaders Celtic.
Prediction
Despite their stuttering league form, Rangers rightly enter the match as strong favourites. Clement's men have however made habit of conceding as of late, and so OddsNow expect both sets of fans to have reasons to cheer in this one.