Rangers Host St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership: Opposition Preview

This Saturday, in the traditional 15:00 BST (last time that can be said until March) slot, Rangers will host St. Johnstone in a crucial Scottish Premiership affair. 

Having dropped two points away to Dundee last time out, Celtic managed to extend their lead at the top of the table to four points. So, for all the goodwill build up since the end of August, there is still a lot of work to be done for Derek McInnes and his side, starting from Saturday. 

So, without further ado, what can we expect from the visitors?

Although inconsistent, it has been a decent enough start to the season for Simo Valakari’s side, who currently sit fifth in the Premiership table, with 12 points from their opening nine games.

In terms of key dangermen, there is no doubt that forward Josh Fowler is the biggest threat to this Rangers team. The Englisman has already netted six times in the league this season, no other player in the Premiership has more, and only one other player can match that tally. Very impressive return.

On top of that, Fowler also has an assist and has created nine chances, so he has more to his game than goals, and the Rangers defence will have to be on red alert to stop him from continuing his excellent early season form.

To make his numbers even more impressive, the 24-year old has only played 602 minutes so far, the equivalent of just over 6.5 full games. He is currently scoring once every 100 or so minutes, and his six goals come from just 11 total attempts, and seven on target. No other player in the St. Johnstone side has scored more than once.

In terms of other dangermen, Bosnian left back Enes Alić has created three big chances so far, and will be looking to feed Fowler at every opportunity possible. Midfielders Sam Stanton and Jamie Gullan have created two big chances each and will be looking to do the same.

Regarding potential weaknesses, the visitors can be got at defensively, with only one clean sheet and 11 goals conceded in their nine games to date. They have also given up 23 big chances across those games— so it feels like Rangers will create chances on Saturday, it all depends on how clinical they are. 

Although St. Johnstone are not a terrible side by any means, there will be no excuses for McInnes' side to pick up anything other than three points in this one. Let's see.