Last season, victory over Kilmarnock on the final day clinched the Scottish Premier League title for Rangers but it has been a very different story this time round. They have had well-documented problems on and off the field and, as they prepare for their final league fixture, they trail bitter rivals Celtic by a massive 20 points.
Nevertheless, Paddy Power rate Rangers as strong favourites to sign off with a victory at 8/11 (1.74) while St Johnstone are chalked up at 7/2 (4.50) with the same firm. The Irish bookmaker also prices the draw up as an 11/4 (3.75) chance.St Johnstone were leapfrogged by Heart of Midlothian in the race for fifth place last weekend when they were defeated 2-0 at Tynecastle.
But the home side welcome back top scorer Francisco Sandaza from suspension for this clash and the Spaniard is chalked up at 7/1 (8.0) with Paddy Power to bag the first goal on Sunday while former Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan is 8/1 (9.0) with the same firm to open the scoring.
Rangers will look once more to former Aberdeen star Sone Aluko to fire them to victory. Aluko has scored nine goals in 20 appearances since joining Rangers and is available at 4/1 (5.0) with Paddy Power while the same firm offer 9/2 (5.50) for makeshift striker Lee McCulloch to break the deadlock.
That's a price that holds plenty of appeal as McCulloch will pose a significant threat to St Johnstone's back line and if Rangers are to break the deadlock, he is likely to be the man to do it.
Steve Lomas’ side have seen their season unravelling in recent weeks and, in fact, the Saints have scored just one goal in their last six league matches. Should St Johnstone carry on with such shot-shy form, the 21/10 (3.10) quote from Paddy Power for Rangers to win to nil looks to be a great bet while the 10/11 (1.91) for the opening goal to come after 25 minutes looks to be worthy of consideration here.
Bet of the Day
| BET |
OF THE |
DAY |
| BEST BET |
VALUE BET |
| Rangers to win to nil at 11/10 (2.10) with Paddy Power |
Lee McCulloch to score first at 9/2 (5.50) with Paddy Power |
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Willie Duncan is a freelance sports journalist. Willie, from Edinburgh, has covered Scottish football for over 10 years and he specialises in football betting markets from across Europe. You can also follow Willie on Twitter here.