What TV channel is Hearts v Rangers? How to watch, kick-off time, predicted XIs, referee, VAR

Hearts and Rangers go head-to-head in the opening match of the new William Hill Scottish Premiership season at Tynecastle Park on Saturday.

The new campaign begins as the previous one ended in May in a repeat of the final match of last term which saw the third and second placed sides battle out an entertaining 3-3 draw.

Both teams will have a fresh look for the new campaign after a busy summer with Hearts making seven signings thus far and hoping to add an eighth before kick-off while Rangers have undergone a major squad overhaul with Dutch defender Robin Propper becoming the ninth new arrival this week following a similar number of first-team departures.

Hearts and Rangers get the new Scottish Premiership season underway at Tynecastle Park on Saturday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

Victory will be imperative for Rangers boss Philippe Clement, who has signed a new contract on the eve of the match, at the start of a crucial opening month of the season in the title race, while Hearts will be looking to set down an early marker in their quest to finish third in consecutive campaigns for the first time in 20 years.

It promises to be an intriguing curtain-raiser to the new season in the capital.

Hearts v Rangers match details

The Scottish Premiership fixture takes place at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Kick-off is 12.30pm.

Hearts v Rangers TV channel

The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 11.30am. Match highlights will be broadcast on Sportscene on BBC Scotland at 7.15pm and repeated on BBC One Scotland 11.40pm.

Hearts v Rangers live stream

Sky Sports subscribers can watch via the Sky Go app. Those without a Sky Sports subscription can purchase a day pass from Now TV for a one-off payment of £14.99 or a monthly membership for the current offer price of £26 per month for six months.

Hearts v Rangers team news and predicted XIs

Hearts will start the new season with skipper Lawrence Shankland leading the line amid fresh speculation linking him with a move to Rangers. The Tynecastle side could have several new faces in their line-up and are working on a deal to recruit Malachi Boateng from Crystal Palace, which if concluded in time could see the former Dundee loanee feature in the season opener. Steven Naismith also has a decision to make on his first-choice goalkeeper after switching between Zander Clark and Craig Gordon during pre-season.

Hearts predicted XI (3-5-2): Clark; Oyegoke, Kent, Rowles; Taylor, Devlin, Spittal, Dhanda, Penrice; Shankland, Vargas.

Rangers could hand debuts to new signings Vaclav Cerny and Robin Propper while Oscar Cortes, who has returned on loan from Lens with an obligation to buy, is set for a first appearance since being injured against Kilmarnock in February. Brazilian striker Danilo has also returned from a knee injury which kept him sidelined for the second half of last season. Rangers captain James Tavernier missed the early pre-season fixtures with a hip injury but has recovered in time for the trip to Tynecastle. However, midfielder Nicolas Raskin will be out until September after suffering an ankle injury in the friendly defeat to Ajax.

Rangers predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Yilmaz; Barron, Diomande; Cortes, Lawrence, Wright; Dessers.

Hearts v Rangers referee and VAR

Nick Walsh is the match referee with Andrew Dallas on VAR duty.

Match odds

Hearts 9/2, Draw 7/2, Rangers 8/13 – via oddschecker.com.