SCOTTISH football aficionado Gerry Taylor (@thefurlongpole) shares his verdict on Sunday's showdown between Hibernian and Rangers.
Hibernian vs Rangers | Sunday 20th September 2020, 12:00 | Sky Sports
Who would've thought that going in to MD8 for these two, that to date neither team would have conceded a goal from open play – a remarkable statistic.
Rangers, in fact have still to concede any type of goal. The Gers backline has an impregnable, thou shalt not pass looks about it at the moment. On the other hand, Hibs defence have only been breached by a superb Chris Burke free-kick in the opening match and a couple of penalties thus far.
Hibs proudly sit in joint second, three points behind the Gers. The real test however for the Hibees is two out of their three upcoming fixtures are both sides of the Old Firm, who are no doubt about to fully test their credentials.
Last time out
Hibs recorded a 3-0 win in Paisley against a St Mirren side who were forced to bring in an emergency-loan goalkeeper – due to a positive Covid test. As I’ve highlighted previously for WLB, the Expected Goals (xG) stats for Jack Ross's charges continue to tell a different story than the bare results. Another example was losing the xG 1.78 – 1.35 to the Buddies.
Rangers, a rare off-day apart at Livingston, have been otherwise flawless this season – scoring in all of their other league matches. They now have four or five players that are stepping up to the mark to add to the firepower, for an attack that previously relied too heavily on Alfredo Morelos.
Ryan Kent, Ianis Hagi and Kemar Roofe are all chipping in with goals. Although Roofe could be an injury doubt for Sunday, veteran Jermaine Defoe has returned and has got on the scoresheet too.
Narrow away win expected
I think Rangers will ultimately be too strong for the Easter Road side in this one. However, the angle I like is for Rangers to win, although I can envisage the match not proving to be a goalfest, especially given the strong, ultra-impressive defensive stats on-show here.
Therefore, rather than get involved in the 4/9 on Steven Gerrard's team, I prefer Betway's odds-against 6/5 on Rangers to win and Under 3.5 Goals.
Key stats
- In 9/10 of Rangers most recent aways, Under 3.5 Goals has landed.
- 8/10 of the latest Hibs homes have goneUnder 3.5 Goals.
- Rangers haven't conceded a league goal since 4th March.
- Hibs yet to concede a goal from open play this season.
- In the last two Hibees homes, both Motherwell AND Aberdeen shut-out the home attack.
Gerrard's squad have real momentum at the moment. Off the back of a 5-0 away win against Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar on Thursday evening, the Gers will be keen to get the job done with the minimum of fuss, this Sunday lunchtime in Leith.
Best Bets
Hibernian vs Rangers – Rangers to win and Under 3.5 Goals (6/5 Betway)
