Scottish League
2008-05-07 - Glasgow Rangers vs Motherwell
A Sports Betting Pick by chappers
- Scottish Premier League -
Ibrox Stadium
7th May 2008PM KO 19.45pm (live on Setanta)
Glasgow Rangers (2nd SPL)
Played 33 with 76 points
This season could go down in history as the best ever that Rangers have ever had, and it could end with four trophies in the cabinet. Yet with all the games coming thick and fast it could also end with just the one. However I think that if Queen of the South do beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup final it will go down as one of the biggest shocks ever in Scottish football. Rangers also booked their place in the UEFA cup final but it is the league which has to priority at the moment and this game is one of now three games in hand and with Celtic now being seven points clear at the top the margin of error for Rangers is now marginal.
Rangers have a record of 24-4-5 this season and this means that they have won 73% of all league games played and this at the moment this is only 1% higher that fierce rivals Celtic. At home the record is 16-0-1 so that means remarkably 94% of all games have ended with Rangers taking all three points. This is Rangers first league game at Ibrox since 29th March when they beat Celtic 1-0. The game that Rangers lost at home this season was back in October when Hibs went to Ibrox and won by 1-0.
With Rangers doing so well in Europe the league has sort of been playing on the back burner and the current form of Rangers in the league has not been good. At the weekend they failed to beat Hibs at Easter Road and before that they lost back-to-back games away at Celtic. And the game before this they came back three times to earn a draw away at Dundee United. In fact you have to go back to that last game at Ibrox to see a Rangers win in the league and as I’ve already said that was at the end of March. Also with Celtic being on such a good run which has seen them move seven points clear this is now a must win game if Rangers want to win the SPL this season.
Motherwell (3rd SPL)
Played 34 with 53 points
When you look at the SPL it is usual that teams like Motherwell only aim for one thing and that is third place and Motherwell will be overjoyed to see they occupy this place at the moment. However Motherwell hold on to this position by the skin of their teeth as Hearts are only four points from them so it come the end of the season you could see Motherwell in that sixth place. Motherwell have already lost thirteen times this season and this is eight times more than Rangers who are in second place, so while the gap between the two teams might only be one place it is 23 points which separates the two teams.
Overall this season Motherwell have a record of 16-5-13 so that is to many defeats and not enough draws. If they had managed to draw some of the games they had ended up losing they would be well clear in third and not looking of their shoulders as they are now. Away from home has been pretty much the same as their home form and it's 8-2-7 so almost 50-50 when it comes to Motherwell winning or not winning a game, so they are not the easiest team in the world to predict what they are going to do.
In any other league you would expect to see the current form of Motherwell stick them in the mid table slot and to be fair if they lose a couple more games they could well be. They have now gone three games without winning but during this time they have lost twice at home to Celtic. Before that they won back-to-back games and before that they lost back to back and before that they drew back to back so you can see the problem they have had and that is that they are inconsistent.
Head to Head
Rangers pretty much own this fixture when it's played at Ibrox and you have to go back to 1996 for the last time that Motherwell took all three points. October 2006 is the last time that Motherwell took a point and then you have to go to 1997 so that means that from the last 72 points, Rangers have picked up 64 to Motherwell's 8. So it's Rangers all the way when the two meet at Ibrox.
Verdict
With Celtic being seven points clear, Rangers cannot afford any slip up's from now to the end of the season if they want to achieve the seemingly impossible and win four trophies in one season. After the goalless draw at the weekend they have now left themselves no margin for error.
Motherwell on the other hand still have more than just the prospect of beating one of the old firm in their sights as they need the points in order to cement third place in the SPL. The bookies have Rangers as red hot favourites at 1.25 and it is really hard to disagree with them as even with the amount of games and the injuries and suspensions that Rangers have I really do think they will be too strong for Motherwell and that the gap will be down to four points in the title race at the end of this game.
So pick Rangers to win this at a little low price of 1.25 so might be worth finding another bet to stick this with somewhere.
The Pick :
Rangers to win this game
