Steven Gerrard’s men were impressive in midweek but their Scottish Premiership challenge cannot afford another slip
Rangers travel to Hamilton on Sunday with the intention of closing the gap to leaders Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Steven Gerrard’s men were boosted by a superb 5-0 victory in the Scottish Cup in midweek, which was an ideal response to last weekend’s tame home draw with St Johnstone.
The hosts, meanwhile, went down 2-0 to Hibs last time out and are mired in a relegation battle with Dundee and St Mirren.
| Game | Hamilton vs Rangers |
| Date | Sunday, February 24 |
| Time | 12:15pm GMT / 7:15am ET |
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed via B/R Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | B/R Live |
In the UK, the game will be shown on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD. It can be streamed via the BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4K UHD | BT Sport Live |
| Position | Hamilton squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Woods, Mucha, Fulton, Marsden |
| Defenders | Tshiembe, Kilgallon, Want, Gogic, Penny, Sowah, Gordon, McGowan |
| Midfielders | Taiwo, Andreu, Mackinnon, Martin, Cunningham |
| Forwards | Imrie, Boyd, Davies, McMillan, Miller, Oakley, Keatings |
Hamilton have a number of headaches to contend with ahead of Sunday’s fixture, with Scott McMann and Marios Ogboe ruled out of action.
There are doubts, meanwhile, over defender Shaun Watt and midfield pair Delphin Tshiembe and Tom Taiwo.
Possible Hamilton starting XI: Woods; Gordon, Kilgallon, Sowah; McGowan, Gogic, McKinnon, Miller; McMillan, Andreu; Oakley
| Position | Rangers squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | McGregor, Foderingham, Firth |
| Defenders | Tavernier, Flanagan, McCrorie, Katic, Barisic, Worrall, McAuley, Goldson, Polster |
| Midfielders | Jack, Halliday, Coulibaly, Arfield, Davis, Kamara |
| Forwards | Candeias, Lafferty, Middleton, Defoe, Kent |
Alfredo Morelos serves another ban, inviting Jermain Defoe to lead the line. Rangers have typically struggled when he has played at the head of their 4-3-3 formation, although Steven Gerrard has shown little sign of switching to a 4-4-2.
Jamie Murphy, Graham Dorrans and Eros Grezda remain long-standing selection worries.
After an impressive midweek display, Glen Kamara is likely to retain his spot in the starting XI.
Possible Rangers starting XI: McGregor; Tavernier, Worrall, Goldson, Barisic; Jack, Arfield, Kamara; Candeias, Defoe, Kent
Rangers are strong 2/9 favourites with Bet365 to win the fixture. Hamilton can be backed at 11/1 and the draw is priced at 5/1.
Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Rangers offered the perfect response to their critics by hammering Kilmarnock 5-0 in their Scottish Cup fifth-round replay on Wednesday evening.
Steven Gerrard’s side had looked flat and unimaginative during their 0-0 home draw against St Johnstone, which saw them fall eight points behind leaders Celtic, and therefore dealt a huge blow to their hopes of winning the title.
After a significant January investment that saw experienced campaigners such as Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe arrive at Ibrox, much better was anticipated.
In midweek, it was left to the familiar face of Alfredo Morelos, banned for the St Johnstone fixture, who starred. The Colombian added to his growing reputation by scoring four goals.
“He was a constant threat. He deserved his four goals. He showed again we’ve missed him sorely in certain games this year,” Gerrard, who has criticised his top scorer’s sometimes petulant attitude, admitted to Rangers TV in the wake of the midweek clash.
“I’d also like to praise the support cast tonight, Daniel Candeias getting assists, Ryan Kent getting an assist.”
The match, however, was tarnished by accusations of sectarian abuse aimed at Killie manager Steve Clarke, and by Monday morning Gerrard will hope that his side are only being talked about for their positive play on the field.
Certainly, it would be a major upset if Hamilton were to worry them.
Accies have lost six of their last eight games, taking only four league points during that time.
“We threw everything at Hibs,” manager Brian Rice said after the 2-0 defeat last weekend, which saw his team drop into the relegation playoff spot after a lamentable first-half showing.
After barely three weeks in charge at New Douglas Park, he will be under no illusions as to how big the task facing him is. Anything to come from the weekend’s fixture would be a huge bonus.
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