22 Jul 2021
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Rangers kick off the defence of the title at home to Livingston and if their form at Ibrox last term is anything to go by, there should be little doubt over the outcome.
They won all 19 games there as they conceded just four goals, with only two of those concessions coming before they mathematically sealed the title, as even one of those came in February when the writing was already on the wall.
Rangers To Win To Nil
In fact, the Gers won their first eight at Ibrox by an aggregate 28-0, while it wasn’t just on home turf where they were sensational at keeping clean sheets.
They conceded just 13 times over the course of the whole season, registering 92 goals at the other end, as their dominance was simply unquestionable.
Whereas Rangers ended up with a +79 goal difference, Livingston were on -12 when the campaign finished.
The visitors were also a poor W4-D6-L10 versus top-half finishers last term, losing six of eight winless such encounters under current boss David Martindale against such teams at the end of the campaign.
Rangers To Win 2-0
Rangers have won by a minimum two-goal margin in four of the last five meetings with Livingston at Ibrox since 2016, and past head-to-heads would also suggest a clean sheet is an inevitability.
Across all competitions and venues, at least one team has failed to score in 10 of 11 meetings since Steven Gerrard pitched up in Glasgow, with Rangers shutting out Livingston in each of the last seven as they won six of these.
Only one of those last seven encounters saw them register more than two goals however, and a more low-key victory could be the order of the day.
Whereas Old Firm rivals Celtic are in need of an overhaul, Rangers’ squad hasn’t seen a great turnaround after such a phenomenal season.
Although Alfredo Morelos’ future appears up in the air, new signing Fashion Sakala has hit the ground running in pre-season and this is largely a settled squad. Gerrard does look set to be without Kemar Roofe and Joe Aribo for this clash, but he will have new signing John Lundstrom available in midfield and his squad is deep enough that the team news shouldn’t have much bearing on this fixture.
Rangers have had some pretty decent friendly results over pre-season, including stalemates with Premier League clubs Arsenal and Brighton, as well as a victory over Real Madrid.
By contrast, Livingston have begun their campaign by finishing second in their League Cup group behind Championship outfit Raith Rovers and it’s not hard to find reasons to back the hosts in this one.
0.5pts: Rangers 2-0 Correct Score At 17/4
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