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Can Rangers’ possession squeeze Aberdeen’s counter-attacking threat across two straight Premiership meetings? Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
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Morocco have the home advantage and a superior head-to-head record of 18 wins to Senegal's 6. Their defense has conceded only once in the tournament, and they face a Senegal side missing their defensive captain Koulibaly and starting midfielder Diarra.
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Both teams are defensively robust, but Senegal historically struggles to score in finals. Morocco's selective attack, led by Brahim Díaz, is likely to find the one decisive breakthrough needed.
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Rangers vs Aberdeen Predictions and Best Bets
Rangers vs Aberdeen — BetMGM Market Snapshot
Pricing shown below based on match analysis and provided statistics.
Rangers dominate the pricing at Ibrox following their Old Firm success, while Aberdeen travel as clear outsiders.
Historical data and Rangers’ shot volume point towards a high-scoring encounter at Ibrox.
- Table context sets the tension: Rangers are third with 38 points from 20 games, while Aberdeen are eighth with 25 from 20, making this a meeting of two very different league pressures.
- Rangers’ shot volume shows their intent: 15.4 league shots per game suggests Rangers generate frequent finishing situations, which matters against an Aberdeen side conceding pressure in recent results.
- Possession identity versus transition threat: Rangers’ 59.7% league possession and 84.8% pass success points to control, while Aberdeen’s style leans on counter attacks and through balls to disrupt that rhythm.
Attacking Volume: Shots per League Game
Rangers maintain one of the highest shot volumes in the league, reflecting their dominance in the final third.
The hosts consistently generate scoring opportunities through sustained pressure and high possession.
Aberdeen rely on through-balls and long-range efforts to test the opposition goalkeeper.
League Position & Scoring Output
A comparison of total league goals scored across the first 20 fixtures of the campaign.
Rangers have converted their dominance into 30 goals, keeping them in the hunt at the top of the table.
Aberdeen’s lower goal return reflects their difficulty in finding consistency throughout the season.
Rangers and Aberdeen kick off a little Premiership mini-series at Ibrox on Tuesday night, the first of two consecutive league meetings that will shape the mood at both clubs for the rest of January. There’s a simple headline to it: Rangers are third with 38 points from 20 games; Aberdeen are eighth with 25 from the same number of fixtures. But the sub-plot is just as important — both sides have had results that hint at what they can be on their day, and both have shown enough rough edges to make the next 90 minutes feel like a genuine examination rather than a formality.
Rangers arrive off a run that includes four wins in their last six matches across competitions, capped by a 3-1 win away at Celtic. Aberdeen’s last six across league and Europe reads a lot harsher: one win, one draw and four defeats, including a 1-0 loss to Falkirk and a 2-0 defeat at Hibernian. That doesn’t settle the match, though. It sharpens it. This is the kind of fixture where pride, structure, and one moment of quality can interrupt any narrative.
It’s also a meeting of two sides whose stylistic profiles promise contrast. Rangers want to control the game in the opposition’s half with short passes and possession football, while Aberdeen are described as aggressive, prepared to play in their own half, and keen to use through balls and long shots. If that clash lands in the right rhythm, it can be compelling: Rangers probing, Aberdeen springing, and both trying to tilt the decisive moments into their preferred zones.
Team News and Likely Set-Ups
Rangers’ possible starting XI is listed as: Butland; Sterling, Souttar, Fernandez, Meghoma; Barron, Raskin, Diomande; Gassama, Chermiti, Moore. It suggests a side with control at its core and pace around the edges. Raskin sits at the heart of it, and his four league assists point to someone who can progress play and deliver the final ball, not just recycle possession. In front, Chermiti brings goals — four in the league from his minutes — while Gassama and Moore hint at runners who can stretch the pitch and keep Aberdeen’s back line from stepping up too boldly.
At the back, the presence of Fernandez is striking because he’s not just a defender on the team sheet; he’s been a goalscorer too, with three league goals and a squad-leading rating of 7.56. Add Souttar and Sterling alongside him and you have a defensive unit that, on paper, can defend high and still carry threat at set pieces — even if Rangers are also labelled weak at defending set pieces themselves.
Aberdeen’s possible XI is: Mitov; Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Shinnie; Armstrong, Nilsen; Bilalovic, Karlsson, Keskinen; Nisbet. The shape looks like it can become a 4-2-3-1, which matches their formations summary. Armstrong and Nilsen in the middle suggests a double pivot designed to survive spells without the ball, while the line of three behind Nisbet points to a plan built around service into key spaces — particularly with Karlsson involved, given he’s their top league scorer with five goals.
That duel of attacking structures is important. Rangers’ 4-2-3-1 usage in the league is set against Aberdeen’s own 4-2-3-1. On paper, it can become a mirror match — which often means individual match-ups matter more than clever rotations. Who wins the wide duels? Who lands the first tackle in the half-spaces? Who keeps their head when the press arrives?
How the Match Could Be Played
Rangers’ characteristic profile reads like a side that wants to squeeze you. “Control the game in the opposition’s half” is the tell. If they can establish that at Ibrox, the match becomes a familiar Rangers pattern: the centre-backs stepping in with the ball, midfielders receiving on the half-turn, and the front three asked to create separation between Aberdeen’s lines.
With Barron, Raskin and Diomande in midfield, Rangers have three different ways to control the middle. The risk, for Aberdeen, is that if they drop too deep, Rangers can set up camp and work the ball into crossing or cut-back zones without being rushed. The risk, for Rangers, is the flip side of the same coin: they are also labelled weak at defending counter-attacks and weak at stopping opponents from creating chances. If they commit bodies forward and lose the ball at the wrong time, Aberdeen’s strengths — counter attacks, through balls, and long shots — are set up to punish a sloppy reset.
Aberdeen’s style points towards a team comfortable springing forward rather than slowly building. “Attempt through balls often” suggests they’ll look early for that pass into space, either behind Rangers’ full-backs or through the channel between full-back and centre-half. Karlsson operating behind Nisbet could be central to that, not only because of his goals, but because a No.10 in a 4-2-3-1 often becomes the connector in transition: win it, find him, and let the move breathe.
There’s also a left-sided emphasis in Aberdeen’s profile — “Attacking down the left” — and their likely XI supports that with Shinnie at left-back and Keskinen listed in the attacking three. That side of the pitch could become a key battleground against Rangers’ right side, where Sterling is listed in defence and Gassama higher up. If Aberdeen can get runners beyond the first press on that flank, they can force Rangers to run towards their own goal — always a useful way to disrupt a team that wants to dominate territory.
Rangers, though, have clear attacking strengths that suit a home game. They’re rated very strong at creating chances through individual skill, and strong at attacking down the wings. That brings Moore into sharp focus. With three league goals, he’s already shown he can turn involvement into end product. If Rangers can isolate Aberdeen’s wide defenders, or drag a centre-back out and open the lane for Chermiti, that’s where the match can start to look like Rangers’ kind of night: fast combinations, defenders backpedalling, and the crowd sensing blood.
Set pieces are another fascinating layer because both sides have them flagged as weaknesses defensively. Rangers are labelled weak at defending set pieces; Aberdeen are also weak at defending set pieces, and very weak in aerial duels. That last point matters at Ibrox if Rangers can keep winning corners and free-kicks in crossing areas. It doesn’t guarantee anything — football never does — but it does hint at a route to goal that doesn’t rely on carving open a settled block.
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The Numbers That Support the Story
The table position gives the broad context: Rangers are third with 38 points from 20 games, while Aberdeen are eighth with 25 from 20. Rangers have scored 30 league goals; Aberdeen have scored 20. That gap suggests Rangers have been more reliable at turning control into goals, which matters in a match where one side expects to see more of the ball.
The team-level shot numbers point the same way. Rangers are taking 15.4 shots per game in the league, compared to Aberdeen’s 12.7. Shots per game isn’t the whole story, but it tells you how often a team is getting into positions where it can finish moves. If Rangers can maintain that shot volume at home, Aberdeen’s defensive concentration will be tested repeatedly rather than in isolated moments.
Possession and passing underline Rangers’ identity. Their league possession is 59.7% with an 84.8% pass completion, compared to Aberdeen’s 47.7% possession and 79.0% pass completion. That difference matters because it shapes the likely game state: Rangers circulating, Aberdeen choosing when to jump, and the match hinging on whether Aberdeen can force Rangers into rushed passes that invite transition.
Individual contributions add colour. Rangers’ top league scorers include Tavernier (four), Chermiti (four) and Fernandez (three). The fact a centre-back has three league goals is a clue that Rangers can hurt teams from dead balls or second phases. For Aberdeen, Karlsson has five league goals, with Lazetic on four and Aouchiche on three. Even if Aberdeen’s “finishing scoring chances” is marked as weak, the spread of goals across their attackers suggests they do have multiple routes to goal when they create the right moments.
Form-wise, Rangers’ last six includes wins over Hibernian, Motherwell, St Mirren, and Celtic, with defeats to Hearts and Ferencvaros. Aberdeen’s last six includes a win over Kilmarnock, a draw with Dundee United, and losses to Sparta Prague, Celtic, Hibernian, and Falkirk. That doesn’t decide Tuesday, but it frames the emotional edge: Rangers arrive with a bit of wind in their sails; Aberdeen arrive needing a response.
Key “Moments” to Watch
The first moment is Aberdeen’s ability to land their counter-attacking punches without being pinned into a permanent low block. Their strengths list counter attacks and through balls as strong, while Rangers are marked weak at defending counter attacks. If Aberdeen can win the ball through midfield pressure — Armstrong and Nilsen stepping in at the right time — and then release Karlsson or Keskinen quickly, Rangers will have to defend bigger spaces than they’d like.
The second is Rangers’ wing pressure. Their profile points to strong wing play and individual skill, and the listed XI offers natural 1v1 threats in Gassama and Moore. If those wide players can pull Aberdeen’s back line out of shape — forcing a centre-back to cover wide or a full-back to stay deeper than planned — it can open the kind of central pockets that suit Chermiti and the runners arriving behind him.
The third is set-piece management, particularly given both sides are flagged as weak in that area defensively and Aberdeen are described as very weak in aerial duels. Rangers don’t need a perfect open-play move if they can keep delivering pressure through corners and wide free-kicks. Aberdeen, meanwhile, can’t afford cheap fouls in dangerous areas, because they’re also marked weak at avoiding fouling in those zones.
What could go wrong with this read? The mirror-shape element can make matches sticky. If both sides cancel each other out through the middle, the game can become a series of small battles rather than a flowing contest. And with Rangers also labelled weak at stopping opponents from creating chances, one Aberdeen transition — one through ball at the right time, one long shot from a favourable pocket — can shift the entire mood inside the stadium.
Best Bet for Rangers vs Aberdeen
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Rangers to Win and Over 2.5 Goals
Rangers head into this clash with significant momentum, having recently secured a pivotal 3-1 victory over Celtic. This result highlights an upward trajectory under their current management, with the team winning nine of their twelve league fixtures since the change in leadership. At Ibrox, they have maintained a high volume of attacking output, averaging 15.4 shots per game and controlling nearly 60% of possession. Their ability to dominate territory and create chances through individual skill makes them a formidable prospect at home, especially against a visiting side that has struggled for consistency.
The visiting side travels to Glasgow on the back of a difficult run, recording four defeats in their last five matches across all competitions. This sequence includes a 1-0 loss to Falkirk and a 2-0 defeat at Hibernian, suggesting a lack of defensive stability when facing clinical opposition. Statistically, the history of this fixture points toward goals; the last five head-to-head meetings between these two clubs have all surpassed the 2.5-goal threshold. Given that Rangers have scored 30 goals in 20 league games while the visitors have conceded 23 times this season, the patterns suggest the hosts have the tools to exploit defensive gaps.
Furthermore, set-piece vulnerabilities are a shared trait between the teams. With both sides flagged as weak defensively in dead-ball situations and the visitors specifically noted as very weak in aerial duels, the likelihood of multiple goals increases. Rangers’ defensive unit has also shown occasional lapses, conceding four goals in their last four outings, which offers the visitors a route to contribute to the scoreline even if the result goes against them. When factoring in Rangers’ strong home record—winning seven of their last eight league games against this opponent at Ibrox—the most logical conclusion is a home victory paired with a high goal count.
What could go wrong
The primary risk lies in the visitors’ counter-attacking efficiency, which is rated as a specific strength. If they can successfully exploit the half-spaces behind Rangers’ high defensive line through players like Jesper Karlsson, they could force a low-scoring stalemate or catch the hosts in transition. Additionally, if the match develops into a “mirror” battle due to both teams utilizing a 4-2-3-1 formation, the game could become congested in midfield, stifling the expected goalmouth action.
Correct score lean: Rangers 2-1 Aberdeen
The selection of a 2-1 victory for the home side aligns with the high-scoring trend observed in recent encounters while acknowledging the defensive fragilities present in both camps. While the hosts are heavy favorites due to their superior league position and recent Old Firm triumph, they have rarely kept clean sheets in this fixture, with the visitors finding the net in 12 of their last 14 league matches. This suggests that while the quality in the home ranks should ultimately prevail, the visitors possess enough attacking threat through through-balls and long shots to ensure a competitive scoreline.
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