Rangers vs Aberdeen: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview
Steven Gerrard’s men will aim to take a further grip on first place in the Premiership by downing one of their greatest rivals
Rangers will defend their spot at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Wednesday when they play host to Aberdeen at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard’s men came from behind to beat Hearts 2-1 at Tynecastle on Sunday, propelling them to the summit of the standings as Celtic were forced to concentrate on the League Cup.
The Dons were Celtic’s victims at the weekend, going down to a 1-0 loss as they conceded deep in first-half stoppage time.
Having established themselves as Scotland’s second force in recent years, Derek McInnes’ men find themselves in the lower half of the table and are seeking to use this encounter as a springboard to push themselves back up the table.
| Game | Rangers vs Aberdeen |
| Date | Wednesday, December 5 |
| Time | 7:45pm GMT / 2:45pm ET |
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed live online via Rangers TV.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | Rangers TV |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
| Position | Rangers squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | McGregor, Foderingham, McCrorie |
| Defenders | Tavernier, Goldson, Flanagan, Ross McCrorie, Katic, Bradley, Barisic, Worrall, McAuley |
| Midfielders | Dorrans, Jack, Ejaria, Halliday, Coulibaly, Kent, Arfield, Kelly, Grezda |
| Forwards | Candeias, Sadiq, Morelos, Lafferty, Middleton |
Rangers will be without suspended midfield dynamo Scott Arfield for this encounter after he was sent off against Hearts, while they are also bereft of long-term injury victims Lee Wallace, Jamie Murphy and Graham Dorrans.
On-loan Liverpool winger Ryan Kent has returned to training, though this match may come just too soon for him.
Possible Rangers starting XI: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Worrall, Flanagan; Jack, Coulibaly; Candeias, Ejaria, Middleton; Morelos
| Position | Aberdeen squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lewis, Cerny |
| Defenders | McKenna, Hoban, Reynolds, Devlin, Ball, Shinnie, Considine, Lowe, Logan |
| Midfielders | Gleeson, Tansey, Ferguson, Makay-Steven, Forrester |
| Forwards | McGinn, Wilson, May, Wright, Cosgrove, Anderson |
Gary Mackay-Steven suffered a nasty head injury which saw him stretchered out of the cup final at the weekend, and Aberdeen will be without a figure who has been one of their most creative players this season as a consequence.
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Mark Reynolds and Tommie Hoban are absent in defence due to injury, while Mikey Devlin is a concern.
Greg Tansey and Frank Ross are also sidelined.
Possible Aberdeen starting XI: Lewis; Logan, McKenna, Considine, Lowe; Ball, Shinnie; McLennan, Ferguson, McGinn; Cosgrove
Rangers are favourites to win according to bet365, who give odds of 4/9 on a victory for the Gers. Aberdeen are rated 11/2 to win and a draw is available at 7/2.
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Rangers moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership thanks to their 2-1 victory over Hearts against Sunday, but what pleased manager Steven Gerrard was not the position that they found themselves in after the game.
Speaking to BT Sport, the Liverpool legend said: “The pressure comes from behind now and they have games in hand, but that’s not important right now for me. What’s important is it’s our first big win against a rival away from home and we’ll take belief from it.”
It is a hectic period in the season for the Ibrox club, who still have the opportunity to progress in Europe if they can overcome Rapid Vienna in Austria next week, and one that promises to test their squad, and their rookie manager, more than ever before.
They have, however, risen impressively to the challenge, piecing together a four-match undefeated run, including a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal.
Gerrard, though, wants his squad to make their lives easier by showing more discipline, with Scott Arfield’s weekend red card the seventh of the season his side has seen.
“Some red cards we have deserved, some we feel a little bit hard done by, but we’ve had seven, which is too many and we’ve told the players that,” he said.
“We have to make the players aware of the knock-on effect. Players have to work hard in those minutes, they do more sprints, more accelerations and decelerations, so it has more strain on the body. That makes it more of a high risk of injuries.
“We have to all as a group improve our disciplinary record.”
Aberdeen, meanwhile, will look to make Wednesday’s fixture at Ibrox as competitive as possible in what is typically a fiery affair.
The clubs have met twice already this season, with Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos dismissed in a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie on the opening day of the campaign, before Aberdeen’s League Cup semi-final success over the Gers in October, sealed by a goal from Lewis Ferguson 10 minutes from the end.
A repeat would be a welcome tonic for Derek McInnes’ men, who have had little to cheer this season.