Hearts vs Rangers Preview – Prediction, how to watch & potential line-ups | OneFootball

Injury-plagued Rangers take a trip to Tynecastle Park to face third-placed Hearts in a top-three Scottish Premiership six-pointer on Wednesday.

Given that 16 points separate the sides ahead of this kick-off, this isn’t really a definition of a ‘six-pointer,’ yet a slip-up would probably halt the visitors’ slim title hopes.

Hearts could only manage a goalless draw at fellow top-four bidders Livingston on Sunday, but they have at least held their unbeaten post-World Cup form intact (W6, D3).

Back to Tynecastle Park, where they won three of their last four top-flight outings by multi-goal margins (W4), the Jam Tarts will relish the chance of snapping a three-game losing home league run against Rangers.

After a comfortable 2-0 home triumph over St Johnstone at the weekend, the Gers will be keen to keep the momentum going after stringing together three consecutive Premiership wins.

Nothing less than success will do for Michael Beale’s men as they already lag nine points behind reigning champions Celtic, who have a presentable opportunity to add another win to the tally against Livingston.

Rangers can seek comfort in having won their last four away league matches, three of which via a single-goal margin, even though they’re likely to miss out on the title, no matter the outcome in Edinburgh.

Match Preview

Hearts

Hearts will be gunning for a fifth successive top-flight victory on home turf for the first time since 2016, but the signs are looking ominous for Robbie Neilson’s high-flyers.

They have lost their last five encounters against Rangers in the Premiership by an aggregate score of 15-1, including a brace of defeats ‘to nil’ earlier this season.

But Hearts should be confident about breaking their scoring duck against the Gers after netting a league third-high 28 goals on home soil this term at an average of 2.54 per game.

Rangers

After picking up just two wins on their six Premiership travels under former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst (D2, L2), Rangers have won all away league fixtures under Beale.

Playing on Wednesday does bode well for Beale’s bid to keep his side’s away form on the upward trajectory, with the Gers winning their last eight midweek matches in the Premiership.

Speaking of good omens, Rangers have suffered just one defeat in their last 18 top-flight clashes against Hearts (W14, D3), going down 2-1 in January 2020.

Hearts vs Rangers Potential Line-ups

Hearts (3-4-2-1): Zender Clark; Sibbick, Kye Rowles, Stephen Kingsley; Nathaniel Atkinson, Orestis Kiomourtzoglou, Jorge Grant, Alex Cochrane; Lawrence Shankland, Stephen Humphrys; Josh Ginnelly.

Rangers (4-2-3-1): Allan McGregor; James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Ben Davies, Borna Barisic; Glen Kamara, Ryan Jack; Cantwell, Malik Tillman, Ryan Kent; Alfredo Morelos.

How to Watch?

Hearts vs Rangers, along with all other high-profile fixtures in Europe, are available to watch online via live football streams.

Hearts vs Rangers Prediction

Although Hearts have been on a tear since the calendar year flipped to 2023, beating in-form Rangers looks like a tall order.

We expect a keenly contested duel, with the Gers likely to walk away with a tight win.

Hearts 1-2 Rangers