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Scottish Championship
Apr 15, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
RL

1-1

Hippolyte (47')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Zaliukas (49')

Preview: Livingston vs. Rangers

:Headline: Preview: Livingston vs. Rangers: ID:216959: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews the Scottish Championship clash between Livingston and Rangers at the Almondvale Stadium.

Rangers can seize the initiative in the race for second place in the Scottish Championship when they take on Livingston on Wednesday.

Mark Burchill's side are in desperate need of the three points themselves in their quest to save themselves from relegation to League One.



Livingston

Livingston have given themselves a glimmer of hope of avoiding relegation to League One as they have recorded back-to-back victories in the Scottish Championship for the first time this season.

Jordan White's brace fired them to a 2-1 comeback victory over Cowdenbeath, which backed up their 2-1 win over Falkirk as Daniel Mullen netted twice on that occasion at the Almondvale Stadium.

The results have left Burchill's men five points adrift of complete safety with two games in hand over eighth-placed Cowdenbeath, while they are just three points behind Alloa Athletic in the relegation playoff spot.

Burchill also helped guide his team to a triumph in the Scottish Challenge Cup as they hammered Alloa 4-0 to clinch the trophy.

The club looked dead and buried at New Year as they mustered just 13 points from their opening 19 matches, which resulted in John McGlynn's departure.

The Lions rallied under Burchill before they slumped to a five-game losing streak in February to leave them bottom of the table and adrift of survival.

However, their recent revival will give Livingston hope that they can achieve the unlikely and pull themselves to safety with three of their remaining four matches at home.

Recent form: DLDWWW
Recent form in all competitions: DLDWWW



Rangers

Stuart McCall's men got their campaign to finish in second place in the table back on track on Sunday courtesy of a 4-0 hammering of Raith Rovers at Ibrox.

Nicky Law netted a brace in the victory while Nicky Clark and Haris Vuckic were also on the scoresheet as the Gers responded to their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Queen of the South last week.

Law's brace against Raith moved him to the top of the club's goalscoring charts with nine strikes in the campaign, while Clark is just behind him with eight goals as the Gers have received contributions from around the team.

Rangers' defeat to Queen of the South was a rare blip as the club were on a nine-game unbeaten run, which had propelled them back into contention for second place after a difficult time over the New Year period.

McCall has brought a calm approach to the Gers' game and has helped make them a good attacking unit as they have scored in all but one of his seven matches in charge of the club.

The Gers have been solid on the road this season as they have lost only four games, and only once in the calendar year in their loss last week. Their away record is the third best in the division behind Hearts and Hibernian, although McCall's men have played one fewer game than Hibs.

Rangers will be hopeful of improving that record to seal second place as three of their remaining matches are away from Ibrox, starting against Livingston on Wednesday.

Recent form: DWWWLW



Team News

Burchill has no new injury worries ahead of the clash and could stick with the same team that defeated Cowdenbeath last time out.

Brad Donaldson, Rory Boulding and Gary Glen could come into contention for a starting berth after appearing from the bench in the victory on Sunday.

McCall will also be tempted to not change his winning side from their victory over Raith after admitting that his players would need to fight through their fatigue.

Bilel Moshni, Lee Robinson and David Templeton could push for recalls to the starting lineup after being left out of the victory at Ibrox on Sunday.

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Jamieson, Talbot, Cole, Fordyce, Ky.Jacobs, Kn.Jacobs, Hippolyte, Gallagher, White, Mullen, Pittman

Rangers possible starting lineup:
Bell, Wallace, McGregor, Zaliukas, Crawford, Vuckic, Murdoch, Shiels, Law, Clark, Miller



Head To Head

The two teams played out a draw the last time they met in March as Ibra Sekajja cancelled out Haris Vuckic's opener for the Gers.

However, Rangers recorded 2-0 and 1-0 victories in the prior two clashes in the campaign to extend their dominance over Livingston.

The Lions have claimed just one victory over the Gers which occurred all the way back in April 2002, meaning that Rangers hold a 15-game unbeaten record against Livi heading into the fixture.

In total, Rangers won 13 of the 19 meetings between the teams, while five of the matches have ended in draws.


We say: Livingston 1-3 Rangers

Rangers put in a dominant display against Raith on Sunday and looked in imperious form in doing so in their pursuit of second place.

McCall's men should be able to extend their dominance over Livingston to increase Burchill's side's relegation woes with a victory at Almondvale Stadium, despite Livi's recent run of good form.



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