Rangers vs Hearts: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Rangers host Hearts at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup Semi Finals this Sunday. The hosts will be looking for a Finals appearance to give them even more momentum in their hunt for Celtic and the top spot in the Premiership, however, Hearts will also be looking to get their hands on some silverware this season.

Date: 21/04/2024

Kick off time: 15:00

Location: Hampden Park

The Scottish Cup has seen these two sides go head to head before, most notably in the 2022 Final, where Rangers won. However, with Hearts well behind the top two sides in the league, they’ll be hungry for another Final appearance.

Rangers currently sit second in the Scottish Premiership after 32 games. The Gers have 24 wins, two draws and six losses, leaving them on 74 points, four points behind Celtic but with a game in hand.

The Gers have a good record in the Scottish Cup with 34 wins in the competitions, the first coming in the 1894 Final and most recently the 2022 win over Hearts. Along with those wins, Rangers have also made an additional 18 appearances in the Final.

Hearts sit just below Rangers in third in the Scottish Premiership. In 33 games, Hearts have 19 wins, five draws and nine losses which leaves them on 62 points, 12 points behind Rangers.

The Maroons have won the Cup on eight occasions, with the first win in the competition coming back in 1890 and the most recent coming back in 2012. Other than the 2022/23 season, Hearts have reached the Final on the last three times of asking, though they did fall short each time.

Rangers and Hearts have met 85 times in their histories. The Gers have a much better record in the fixture with 60 wins in comparison to Hearts’ 12 wins. In fact, a draw is more common than a Hearts win with 13 draws so far. Also, on average there are 2.67 goals a match when these two sides meet.

The last five games in this fixture have seen four wins for Rangers and one draw, with Hearts last winning in this fixture back in 2020. However, three of the last five games have seen both sides on the scoresheet.

Rangers Team News

Philippe Clement could be without the likes of Kieran Dowell, Oscar Cortes, Danilo Pereira, Ridvan Yilmaz and Ryan Jack this weekend.

Hearts Team News

Steven Naismith could be missing Craig Halkett, Peter Haring and Liam Boyce this weekend. Calem Nieuwenhof is also a doubt.

In their last five games in all competitions, Rangers have two wins, one draw and two losses.

The Scottish Cup Quarter Finals saw Rangers on the road to Hibernian. John Lundstram opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give Rangers the lead at halftime. Following the red cards to Hibernian’s Jordan Obita and Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Fabio Silva scored late on to give Rangers the 2 - 0 win.

In the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16, Rangers hosted Benfica. Following a 2 - 1 loss in the first leg, Rangers needed a win. However, a second half goal from Rafa Silva was the only goal of the game to give Benfica the 1 - 0 win and a 3 - 2 win on aggregate.

Back in the Premiership, Rangers hosted Hibernian. James Tavernier opened the scoring for Rangers but Myziane Maolida equalised in the second minute of the first half added time. Cyriel Dessers regained the lead in the seventh minute of the first half added time and a late goal from Rabbi Matondo secured the 3 - 1 win for Rangers.

The Old Firm Derby was a goal frenzy this year at Ibrox. Daizen Maeda gave Celtic the lead in the first minute and a penalty from Matt O’Riley gave Celtic the 2 - 0 lead at halftime. A penalty from Tavernier and a goal from Abdallah Sima levelled the game at 2 - 2 with just five minutes to go. Adam Idah put Celtic back ahead just a minute later, but a 93rd minute goal from Matondo rescued a 3 - 3 draw.

An own goal from Jack Baldwin gave Rangers the 1 - 0 lead at halftime, but goals from Simon Murray, George Harmon and Josh Sims gave Ross County the 3 - 1 lead with 20 minutes to go. A late penalty from Tavernier did get Rangers back into it, but it was too late, and Ross County held on for the 3 - 2 win.

Rangers also face Dundee in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday.

In their last five games in all competitions, Hearts have three wins, one draw and one loss.

The Scottish Cup Quarter Final saw Hearts take on Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton. Kenneth Vargas scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute to give Hearts the 1 - 0 win.

Back in the Scottish Premiership, Hearts made the trip to Ross County. Simon Murray opened the scoring in the 42nd minute and just minutes into the second half Murray found the back of the net again. Yutaro Oda did score in extra time for Hearts, but Ross County held on for the 2 - 1 win.

Vargas was on the scoresheet again for Hearts, this time early on in the tenth minute. However, in the second half, Marley Watkins scored to force a 1 - 1 draw for Kilmarnock.

A penalty from Jorge Grant gave Hearts the 1 - 0 lead over St Mirren at halftime. An own goal from Mikael Mandron doubled the lead for Hearts and even with a goal from Toyosi Olusanya, Hearts secured the 2 - 1 win.

The last time out for Hearts was against Livingston. Despite the early brace from Stephen Kelly giving Livingston the 2 - 0 lead, goals from Jorge Grant, Yutaro Oda, Cameron Devlin and Lawrence Shankland gave Hearts the 4 - 2 lead at halftime. The red card to Livingston’s Tete Yengi made Livingston vulnerable and Hearts held on for the 4 - 2 win.

Rangers have dominated Hearts for as long as the two sides have met and this is unlikely to change. Rangers 3-1 Hearts

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Rangers vs Hearts will be shown on Premier Sports 1 in the U.K. but the game can also be followed online via BBC Sport or Sky Sports.

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