It looks set to be a pre-Christmas cracker at Victoria Park, Dingwall on Friday evening, as struggling Ross County take on title-chasing Rangers in a 19:30 kick-off in the Scottish Premiership.
Michael Beale’s reign as Rangers manager has proven to be an entertaining one to say the least, with a 3-2 victory over Hibernian in his opener followed by the same result against Aberdeen during which Scott Arfield scored twice in stoppage-time.
The former QPR boss may be hoping for an easier ride on Friday when his side travel to Victoria Park, but that is unlikely to happen given the fact Ross County are in a relegation scrap and in desperate need of the points themselves.
Ross County vs Rangers Betting Tips
Team news
County are without captain Jack Baldwin after he was sent off in the defeat to St Johnstone on Saturday, while left-back Ben Purrington is still a couple of weeks away from returning from an ankle injury and Ross Callachan is rated 50/50 for the contest following a hamstring issue.
Alex Samuel has returned to training after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury towards the start of the year, but this contest will likely come too soon for him and he may be kept back until the beginning of 2023.
For Rangers, left-back Borna Barisic is not available following his World Cup exploits with Croatia, although he is expected to be back in time for the home clash against Motherwell on December 28.
Steven Davis is set for a short layoff after picking up an injury in the win over Hibs, joining Kemar Roofe on the sidelines, but there could be some better news regarding Antonio Colak, who is pushing to be involved in the matchday squad.
Ridvan Yilmaz, Nnamdi Ofoborh, Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander, John Souttar and Tom Lawrence are all still unavailable due to injuries.
Rangers to Win and BTTS @ 7/4
It certainly hasn’t been dull since Beale was confirmed as Rangers boss, with back-to-back 3-2 victories keeping the Gers nine points behind leaders Celtic and still in with a chance of winning the title.
There are no doubt issues for the Gers to resolve at the back, as no manager will be happy with four goals shipped in two matches, but the attacking prowess has been pleasing to see and the extra firepower should see them through this test.
County will not go down without a fight and the fact they have scored in each of their last five assignments – eight in total – should give them confidence they can at least hit the back of the net on home soil.
Getting a positive result looks like it will be a bridge too far for the Staggies, especially given the fact they have won just one of their previous eight encounters at Victoria Park across all competitions.
#PickYourPunt – Both Teams 20 or More Booking Points @ 11/8
While the goals are expected to flow at Dingwall, the cards may also be coming out of the referee’s pocket with regularity and the 11/8 on both teams receiving 20 or more booking points is very appealing.
County have picked up eight yellows and a red from their last three games – with 20 or more booking points landing in each of those – while the same bet came in during Rangers’ win last time out as they had five players cautioned.
