Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Scottish Premiership match.
Why is there such confidence in a Rangers victory? After all, Kilmarnock stand as the only team, besides Celtic and Aberdeen, to have defeated them (1:0) in this championship.
Rangers
This season, Rangers haven't been winning with the same authority as Celtic. In the 14th round, they only narrowly secured victory against St. Johnstone, who were ninth at the time, thanks to an own goal. With 17 shots, 10 on target, and an xG of 1.73, they managed just one goal, and that with some assistance. Such figures highlight their modest average of only 1.4 goals per match, putting them not much ahead of the league's lower-tier teams.
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock are indeed among those lower-tier sides. The main difference compared to Rangers is that they have conceded three times as many goals (27 to 9). They frequently let in two, three, or even four goals, but those high-scoring games were back in August and September. The last heavy scoreline (2:3) was recorded away against Dundee on 3 November. Since then, Kilmarnock have conceded only four goals in three matches. While they haven't won, they only lost to Celtic by just 0:2.
Rangers vs Kilmarnock Prediction
We doubt Rangers will be much more precise than Celtic were. Let's recall their first-round match at Rugby Park, where the vice-champions had 15 shots but only hit the target three times. It's likely that Kilmarnock won't win, but they shouldn't lose by more than one goal either.
