Rangers continue their defence of the Scottish FA Cup with a quarter-final against second-tier Raith Rovers on Sunday lunchtime.

The Gers came from behind to thrash Hibernian 4-1 on Wednesday night, while Rovers warmed up for a daunting trip to Ibrox with a 3-0 defeat away to Partick Thistle last weekend.

Match preview

Michael Beale's side have responded emphatically to the disappointment of losing the Scottish League Cup final to Celtic at the end of February, scoring seven goals across their subsequent two league games.

Wednesday's trip to the capital was particularly impressive, with Beale's insistence that his side could have netted eight times hardly hyperbolic; Rangers racked up 31 shots against Hibs, the club's highest tally in an away game all season.

James Tavernier quickly cancelled out Connor Goldson's own goal before Antonio Colak found the net in the league for the first time since October, bagging a brace on either side of Fashion Sakala's sharp finish.

Rangers lifted the Scottish Cup for a 34th time last season after Ryan Jack and Scott Wright finally broke Hearts' resolve in extra time - the Gers have not lost a match in this competition inside 120 minutes since the Jambos knocked them out of the quarter-finals in 2020.

Raith Rovers, conversely, have never won the second-oldest competition in football history, only reaching one final all the way back in 1913 - however, Rovers have made it to the semi-finals as recently as 2010, when they were knocked out by eventual champions Dundee United.

To earn the club's first quarter-final berth in eight years, Ian Murray led his side to victories over non-league Auchinleck Talbot and Linlithgow Rose before romping past top-flight Motherwell in the round of 16 - the 3-1 defeat Rovers inflicted was so damning that Well manager Steven Hammell was sacked after the loss.

The Rovers had strung together a 14-game unbeaten sequence across all competitions before Partick Thistle took them apart last weekend - although, they still sit seventh in the Championship, comfortably clear of the relegation zone but eight points off promotion pace.

There is some hope for an upset as the Fife outfit travelled to Ibrox and knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup in 2015 - but the Gers have lost just three home cup ties in the subsequent eight years.

However, Murray's personal record against the Glasgow giants does not inspire a great deal of confidence; the current Rovers manager has lost all eight of his career meetings with Rangers, watching his sides concede 22 goals in the process.

Team News

Beale has a raft of fitness concerns to carry into this cup clash, limiting his scope for rotation as the likes of Tom Lawrence and Steven Davis have both been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee injuries.

Ridvan Yilmaz is nearing the conclusion of his recovery from a hamstring problem but is highly unlikely to start this weekend and may yet remain on the sidelines with fellow defender Filip Helander (foot).

Kemar Roofe has managed to score two goals in just 147 minutes of football this season but is not expected to add to either tally in the coming weeks while he nurses a calf issue.

Raith Rovers will be without midfielder Scott McGill or striker William Akio as the pair are cup-tied, while Kieran Ngwenya has already left for international duty with the Malawi team - Murray ruled out both Jamie Gullan and Ross Matthews with injury.

Rovers captain Scott Brown made an unexpectedly early return to training in the week leading up to the trip to Ibrox but may not be fit enough to start against Rangers, Esmael Goncalves is also working his way back to fitness and Ethan Ross is once again available for selection.

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Raskin, Kamara; Hagi, Cantwell, Sakala; Colak

Raith Rovers possible starting lineup:
MacDonald; Millen, Nolan, Lang, Dick; Stanton, Spencer; Connolly, McBride, Easton; Vaughan

We say: Rangers 3-1 Raith Rovers

Trailing Celtic by nine points with just 10 Premiership games to play, there is even more importance on the cup for Rangers as Beale desperately tries to avoid a trophyless debut campaign.

Rangers may not need extra motivation to defeat a second-tier side at home but they certainly have it, which does not bode well for Raith Rovers this Sunday.


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