Hibernian vs Rangers Prediction: Rangers is too good for Hibernian

Hibernian, looking to get back on track in the Scottish Premier League, will host Rangers at Easter Road. Hibernian is coming off a 2-1 loss against Livingston. With this loss, they dropped to 0-3, with only four points, after three games. The away team is on a three-game winning streak and is keeping pace with league leaders Celtic. They will try to keep up with the defending champs by replicating their early success.

Whenever Giovanni van Bronckhorst's players show up at Easter Road for their SPFL Premiership lunchtime date, Hibernian will be hoping they are still thinking about their massive European date in Eindhoven. This encounter is sandwiched between the two legs of a Champions League play-off with PSV, and the Gers are still in the hunt for a place in the group stage after a thrilling 2-2 draw at Ibrox in midweek. Hibs have the firepower to challenge van Bronckhorst's defense, easily batted aside by Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone in their last two league games at Ibrox. The Hibees' first three Premiership games under new manager Lee Johnson have yielded a win, a draw, and a loss. Johnson's inconsistency can be explained by the fact that it will take some time for his new players to settle in after the excitement of a late derby equalizer and the disappointment of a loss to Livingston in their most recent match. But if Hibernian can steal a point from Rangers, it will give them the impetus they need to get their season back on track. Hibernian manager Lee Johnson has two injured players, Lewis Stevenson and Kyle Magennis.

Rangers and PSV Eindhoven played to a 2-2 draw in their most recent UCL Qualifier match. The Rangers had 12 shots in that game, with 7 finding the back of the net. The rangers, led by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, have won their last six matches, scoring 13 goals. They've let in a grand total of five goals in those same matchups. Even though Hibs stunned Rangers 3-1 in last year's League Cup semi-final (below), the Ibrox men have been dominating in the Premier League as of late, winning the last six meetings between the two teams. Fifteen league games have passed since the Easter Road club last defeated Rangers, 2-1, at Ibrox in 2018. Last year, the two teams met just once in Leith, and the Gers came out on top thanks to a late penalty from Kemar Roofe.

I think van Bronckhorst will shake things up a bit, as some of his players appeared tired in the last minutes of that spectacular match against PSV. Martin Boyle, a hero who has returned to Hibs and has come off the bench in the previous two games, may be given the nod to start against Rangers. He's a dangerous threat to score at any time, thanks to his hat trick in the semi-final triumph over them last season. If we look back at all their previous head-to-head encounters, which date back to January 27, 2021, we see that Hibernian won 1 and Rangers won 5, with 0 matches ending in a tie. There were 14 goals scored between the two teams in those meetings, with The Hibees contributing five and The Gers nine. That works out to 2.33 goals per game on average.

• Over 10 Corners for 1.90
• Penalty awarded for 2.62
• Both teams to score for 1.89

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