Livingston vs. Rangers Prediction: A crucial opener for Rangers

Rangers will be looking to avenge back at Celtic for losing the Scottish Premiership title to them last year when they play Livingston in the first game of the season on Saturday at Livingston's Tony Macaroni Stadium. In their last 14 games against Rangers, Livingston has lost 13 times and tied once. Livingston will hope their luck gets better when they play the defending champions for the first time this season.

There is no doubt that David Martindale's team will want to ruffle the feathers of the Rangers, the team that finished ninth in the league last year. Livingston finished outside the relegation zone in the previous season's final five games showing that the club is progressing. They have already fought hard in the League Cup group stages, winning three games to advance to the next round. Furthermore, Livingston's position at the top of the relegation group will be a significant factor in their success this season, as they were the sixth-fewest shots at home and sixth-fewest goals from open play. These five games yielded a total of 11 points for the team. David Martindale has put together a solid club that should be able to maintain this respectability. To keep the Teddy Bears under control, the Lions will likely line up to contain and counter where possible, and they may even resort to dark arts.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst will want his team to get off to a good start to put pressure on Celtic, their Old Firm opponents. Van Bronckhorst knows that August is going to be a busy month, so he is going to try to get a jump on the competition. It will be an exciting match for the Rangers, and they should be in the mindset of scoring numerous goals when they face Livingston on Saturday. Even though Union SG will be playing Giovanni van Bronckhorst's club in Champions League qualifying next week, they will not let that deter them from pursuing the domestic championship. When Calvin Bassey left Rangers in the summer, Ben Davies was brought in as a replacement. However, Davies' arrival may not be enough to make up for Bassey's departure. During Rangers' run to the Europa League final in the previous season, Bassey was an integral part of the team's success. 

The Ranger-Livingston rivalry is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Rangers were able to fill the void left by the departures of Bassey and Joe Aribo by acquiring a few new players. Livingston will be seeking their first significant win of the new season with a winless streak of 14 meetings against Rangers. Despite these, we still anticipate the Rangers to perform well and score at least three goals in this encounter. Both teams are expected to score a goal.

• Both teams to receive a red card NO for 3.50
• Rangers win and over 1.5 for 1.68
• W Rangers/ W Rangers for 1.91

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