Rangers make the short journey to Paisley this week to face on Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren side at the SMiSA Stadium in the Scottish Premiership on Thursday.
Philippe Clement’s side were able to leapfrog Aberdeen into second at the weekend after Vaclav Cerny’s 11th goal of the campaign handed them a narrow 1-0 win over Dundee at Ibrox, while the Dons fell to a surprise 3-1 defeat against Hibs at Pittodrie.
With the Gers now back up into second, their pre-New Year task will be to eat into Celtic’s commanding lead at the top of the league as best as they can during a hectic schedule that will see them play four games in just 15 days.
With the all-important Old Firm clash at Ibrox on January 2, the Ibrox giants will hope they can add a little extra pressure to their Old Firm rivals by picking up three points at the SMiSA Stadium. The Belgian head coach will have to do it without a number of first team players though, with a host of players expected to miss out in Paisley.
As for their hosts, St Mirren, they picked a huge 2-1 win at Ross County over the weekend, despite being down to 10 men from early on in the second-half following Scott Tanser’s red card, meaning they’ll heading into Thursday’s game full of confidence. Like Rangers though, the Buddies have a host of injuries themselves, with potentially three keys players ruled out of the Boxing Day clash.
Ahead of the clash at the SMiSA Stadium, The Scotsman bring you all the early team news ahead of clash:
9. Jack Butland - Rangers - AVAILABLE
Pulled out of the game with Dundee at the last minute due to the birth of his child, but Philippe Clement has already confirmed he will be available for the trip to Paisley. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
10. Neraysho Kasanwirjo - Rangers - OUT
Not expected to play again this season after suffering a serious knee injury on international duty. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
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11. John Souttar - Rangers - OUT
The Rangers defender is out of the game, and is expected to miss the entire festive period, with a groin injury picked up against Tottenham Hotspur. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group