RANGERS make the trip to Perth to face St. Johnstone as they begin their Scottish Cup defence in the fourth round after winning the competition back in May.
CURRENT FORM
The Saints are winless in their last five Scottish Premiership outings so will be hoping their cup campaign commencing this weekend will be a welcomed distraction having gone without a win since their 2-1 victory over Ross County in their first match after returning from the World Cup break on December 17th.
Saturday’s opposition came from behind to defeat the 10-man highland side on the day but have since suffered defeats to Livingston, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts and Celtic.
The hosts’ form sees them currently occupy eighth place in the table but remain seven points clear of the foot of the table, and four points above the pack of three that are level on points in the relegation play-off zone.
MANAGER
Callum Davidson is the longest serving manager in the Scottish Premiership after he succeeded Tommy Wright at St. Johnstone in June 2020.
The 46-year-old steered the Perth side to a cup double in 2020/21, securing a European place and a top six finish in the process in a historically famous campaign for the Perth club.
Despite a difficult campaign last time out, the former Scotland international successfully steered his side through a two-legged relegation play-off against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Davidson will be hopeful of a repeat in a competition where they have had recent success after picking up the crown in May 2021 with a 1-0 victory over Hibernian at Hampden Park.
STYLE OF PLAY
The manager has stuck with his favoured three at the back system in recent weeks despite the side’s run of form, starting every league match with the formation this term, with the only slight alteration in changing to a back five in their recent defeat at Pittodrie.
Jamie Murphy will be looking to impress against his former club and is in good form having scored in two in the side’s last four games despite having been limited to a substitute role in both outings.
KEY PLAYER
Andrew Considine has shown consistency with his performances this season and racked up the most minutes so far for the Perth side in the league.
Scoring one and assisting another, the centre-back has shown his leadership qualities which has led to him remaining a mainstay at the heart of Callum Davidson’s backline.
The former Aberdeen man will be looking to use his experience to inspire victory for Saturday’s cup opposition, but will need to be at his best to keep the Rangers attack out.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Rangers suffered a 2-1 defeat in the side’s last meeting on November 6 at McDiarmid Park.
Goals from James Brown and Nicky Clark set the hosts on their way before James Tavernier pulled a goal back for the Gers in what was Rangers’ last defeat in all competitions.
Gers had taken maximum points from their previous four encounters with St. Johnstone since the Perth side ended the Light Blues’ Scottish Cup hopes in April 2021 before their last meeting two months ago.
The Gers were victorious over their Scottish Cup fourth round opponents earlier in the season, however, as they ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Malik Tillman, Antonio Colak, Scott Arfield and Tom Lawrence.