Rangers’ stats against St Johnstone certainly go against the notion that Saints are a tricky side to face.
There’s no denying there’s truth in that. Tommy Wright has himself a well-drilled outfit who’re always capable of causing shocks to any side in Scotland.
Don’t tell that to Kyle Lafferty or Alfredo Morelos, however. Last season, the pair bagged five goals between them against Saints. Lafferty bagged a brace for Hearts in a home clash against Wright’s men. He also snatched another as Morelos got two for Rangers
The idea for a striking partnership between the pair for the visit of Saints will give the visitors chills.
But there’s a lot more to be excited about than just the front-men on Saturday.
Out of the last 16 meetings between these sides, St Johnstone have only won two of them. Those two defeats were, however, 3-1 successes at Ibrox in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Those campaigns were years where Rangers seemed all over the place, however.
Nowadays, things feel a little different under Steven Gerrard. Much has been made of the fact Rangers have only won two of their opening five Premiership games. But it’s important to look at the fact that the new Rangers manager has also lost just one domestic game out of six so far. The Gers also went unbeaten through Europa League qualifying.
Goals from either side
It’s certainly a game where goals should be expected from either side. Seven of the last eight meetings between these sides have ended with goals for either. Rangers netted an impressive eight times against St Johnstone last season also, with seven of those coming away from home.
In recent times, Rangers have found Ibrox a much more comfortable place to play their football however.
Under Gerrard, Rangers have bagged an impressive 13 goals in their six competitive games at Ibrox. If you include the friendly matches, it adds up to 22 in eight. St Johnstone should be, if Rangers are on their game, lambs to the slaughter.
Where there might be concern is the fact Rangers are returning from Europa League duty. They’ve faced domestic football four times immediately after European games this season. The Gers have won only won of them.
Defensively, however, they’re looking ridiculously good at home. Added to their impressive goals for stat, Rangers have also managed to keep four clean sheets in those six home matches. The two games they did conceded in, only one goal was shipped in each match.
St Johnstone, on the other hand, have lost goals in five of their last six games. They’re a vulnerable side who Rangers should run over if they’re on their game.
The stats point to a decent Rangers win, it remains to be seen now what the fixture itself hands out.
