Neil To Return To The Starting XI? | Predicted 4-4-2 Rangers Lineup To Face St Mirren

Neil To Return To The Starting XI? | Predicted 4-4-2 Rangers Lineup To Face St Mirren After back-to-back league draws on the road against Dundee and Hearts, Rangers secured a crucial Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen at Hampden Park. They travel again this weekend, with St Mirren set to host the Glasgow giants, who could close the gap on Old Firm rivals Celtic with a win at the SMiSA Stadium. The Buddies bounced back against Dundee after five successive defeats but settled for a draw with Hibernian, then lost 1-0 to Motherwell last week. The Gers have dominated this fixture throughout the previous campaign and continued the streak this term with a last-gasp 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture at Ibrox. Gaffer Craig McLeish must demand a reaction from his men to defy the odds and salvage a result against Rangers on Saturday night. Predicted 4-4-2 Rangers Lineup To Face St Mirren Defence Ivor Pandur, who has retained the ‘number 1’ status even in the Cup ties, must aim for a clean sheet, having conceded twice each to Dundee and Hearts in their last two Premiership outings on the road. GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: Bojan Miovski of Rangers celebrates after scoring his team’s only goal during the William Hill Premiership 2026/27 match between Glasgow Rangers and St. Mirren at Ibrox Stadium on September 09, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) Derek McInnes made a tactical alteration against the Dons, deploying left-back James Penrice in midfield alongside Nicolas Raskin. But the manager is expected to restore him to his usual role, dropping Tuur Rommens from the starting XI. Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez should continue as the central defensive pairing, with Dujon Sterling likely to retain his right-back spot ahead of Kosta Nedeljkovic. Ben Godfrey, struggling for minutes since Makhanya’s emergence, might get involved from the bench as a second-half substitute. Midfield Dan Neil should return to the lineup after being introduced from the bench in the League Cup semi-final. The Englishman must drive the game from deep alongside Raskin, as they offer a right balance in the centre of the pitch. With Ross McCrorie and Cammy Devlin still sidelined, Tochi Chukwuani and Vanja Dragojevic would continue to deputise the midfield duo. Despite Daisuke Yokota’s groin injury, Rangers are well-equipped on the wide with Djeidi Gassama, Badredine Bouanani, Min-Su Kim and Findlay Curtis challenging each other for first-team slots. Kim is expected to feature from the right; however, Gassama might get the nod over Bouanani down the opposite flank. Attack Ryan Naderi is on fire with 8 goals and 5 assists in 16 appearances across competitions. Kevin Kelsy has also delivered, notching five goals and an assist in 9 games amid Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti’s injury absence. They must spearhead the attack in McInnes’ classic front two set-up, with ‘super sub’ Bojan Miovski playing his part as a ‘super sub’, having done so in September when he scored the injury-time winner.