IT'S all about the League Cup quarter-finals for Rangers and St Johnstone on Tuesday night. Who does Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) fancy to progress?
Rangers v St Johnstone | Tuesday 19:15 | BBC1 Scotland
Ibrox hosts this fascinating League Cup quarter-final clash between Championship side Rangers and Premier League team St Johnstone. Despite playing in a lower division, it's no surprise to see Rangers 17/20 favourites with Ladbrokes to win.
It's been a stop-start season for Ally McCoist's side but you just get the impression they're starting to click into gear. Three league wins in a row with an aggregate score of 10-1 has pushed them to within seven points of Hearts, with a game in hand. On Saturday, they went to the Bet Butler Stadium and won 3-0 against Dumbarton. Considering Hearts failed to win there in September, that's a decent result.
Can Rangers handle themselves against Premiership opposition though? Well so far the evidence points to yes. Last month they hosted Inverness CT in the second round of this competition and came out 1-0 winners. Inverness are currently sitting second in the Scottish Premiership after a fine win over Dundee United at the weekend. So with that form in the bank, it would be fair to suggest that Rangers could be a top-half Premiership side this season.
St Johnstone worry me. They haven't won since August and lost five of their last six league matches. There's a definite suspicion that their superb Scottish Cup win in May has left them a bit hungover this season. The prospect of facing Rangers will excite them but I feel the Ibrox club will have too much.
It's Rangers for me. I'm going to back them -1 on the Asian Handicap as I wouldn't be surprised if they won by more than one goal. If they win by the odd goal I get my money back. Their victory over Inverness was a good indicator of where they stand in the wider Scottish game and St Johnstone appear to have forgotten how to win.
Best Bet
Rangers v St Johnstone – Rangers -1 Asian Handicap (57/40 Bet365)
