Livingston vs Rangers: Live stream, team news, managers’ thoughts & highlights details for Scottish Premiership clash
and live on Freeview channel 276
Rangers make the short trip across to West Lothian to face Livingston on the artificial surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday as Michael Beale puts his unbeaten record on the line.
The Ibrox side will be desperate to catch the eye of their manager and force their way into the Englishman’s plans for next weekend’s Viaplay League Cup final at Hampden Park, but they must firstly overcome a stubborn Lions outfit who currently sit in fourth spot in the Scottish Premiership table.
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Hide AdBeale conceded in his pre-match media conference that his team’s chances of lifting the top-flight crown this season remain “low” despite winning 12 and drawing one of his first 13 fixtures since stepping into his role back in November.
However, the Gers will continue their pursuit of the reigning champions when they take to the pitch against a Livingston side who were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by second-tier Inverness Caledonian Thistle last week, losing 3-0 on home soil.
Domestically, David Martindale’s side have fared a lot better, losing just one of their previous seven Premiership games. They were narrowly denied a historic first win over Rangers at Ibrox back in October, having to eventually settle for a 1-1 draw.
Rangers are a force to be reckoned with at the moment and are on a 15-match unbeaten run across all competitions. They were given a scare by Partick Thistle in the cup last weekend before James Sands’ deflected 86th minute winner securing a 3-2 success. Since the Premiership restart, the Glasgow giants have taken 28 points from a possible 30.
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Hide AdWe’ve gathered all the information you need on the match and how to tune in if you won’t be at the national stadium...
Where is the game taking place & what time does the match kick-off?
Who: Livingston vs Rangers (Scottish Premiership)
Where: Tony Macaroni Arena, West Lothian
When: Saturday, February 18th – kick-off 3.00pm (UK time)
Odds: Livingston 7/1 | Draw 4/1 | Rangers 1/3 (*Odds from Skybet.com correct at time of writing*)
How to watch on TV – Is there a live stream?
No, unfortunately the game will not be broadcast live. BBC Radio Scotland will provide live coverage on on 92 - 95 FM and 810 MW. Sportscene highlights will be aired at 7.30pm and repeated again at 11.50pm on the same night, while highlights will also pop up on Sky Sports News throughout the evening and following morning. Fans can also catch highlights on each of the clubs’ official YouTube channels.
Rangers TV international subscribers can stream the match. UK & Ireland subscribers can listen to live audio.
Who are the match officials?
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Hide AdReferee David Dickinson is the man in the middle. He will be assisted by Drew Kirkland and John McCrossan, with Colin Steven named as the fourth official. Andrew Dallas is in charge of VAR.
What’s the latest team news?
Michael Beale has confirmed that defender Connor Goldson is a doubt, while midfield trio Ryan Jack, Nicolas Raskin and John Lundstram are all struggling with knocks from last week’s Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle.
Issuing his latest squad fitness update, the Light Blues boss said:” Lundstram is touch and go for this weekend, Goldson had a small issue and that is why he didn’t start last week. Raskin had some minor issues including fatigue after the Partick game so we took no risks with him, Jack also had a minor issue. But we still have a strong squad available.
“We are hopeful (Tom) Lawrence returns to training in a few weeks, but there is no exact timeline on this one, Malik (Tillman) is doing fine - there was a lot of emotions in the game at the weekend.”
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Hide AdLivingston remain without long-term absentee Tom Parkes, who hasn’t featured since August 2021 due to a serious knee injury. Jamie Brandon is still nursing an injury, while striker Esmael Goncalves has moved to Championship side Raith Rovers on loan.
What have both managers’ said?
Michael Beale:
Rangers boss Michael Beale has encouraged his side to replicate their best away performance during his time in charge so far - a stunning 3-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle earlier this month.
He admitted: “It will be an extremely difficult test, obviously they know the surface and the pitch. I like going there because we take a great number of fans and they are close to the pitch, they have an impact on the game. We know that David (Martindale) will have his team fired up, so it’s important that we go there and put on a strong away performance.
“Our last away performance in the league was against Hearts and it was our best performance to date, so I am looking for somewhere around that, certainly out of possession. The pitch will be difficult, so I think the advantage is with the team that train on it every single day.
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Hide Ad“It is in their favour and generally the teams with the artificial surface have good home forms. It’s a tough place to go, we have had reasonable results there in the past, but we know they that are riding high. David does a fantastic job, they are fourth in the league and will be full of confident but we couldn’t be in stronger form than we are in now ourselves.”
David Martindale:
Livingston boss David Martindale reckons his opposite number Michael Beale is “head to head” with Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as he heaped praise on the Rangers boss for his successful start to life at Ibrox.
He said: “How do you beat Rangers? You are going to need a little bit of luck on the day. Am I correct in saying Michael’s record is the exact same as Ange’s record since he took over? For me, Celtic were the best team in the country before Michael came in to Rangers.
“He has done a fantastic job and him and Ange are now head-to-head, obviously Celtic have got that head start with the points they picked up previously. But I think it shows the job that Michael has done. If you had said to anybody at Rangers, when they made the appointment, that you are going to be in the cups, going to be unbeaten including a game against Celtic, I think they would have snapped your hands off for that.
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Hide Ad“It could have got a little better in terms of the result against Celtic but it couldn’t have been much better. He has done an incredible job since he came in and it is my job to focus on Livingston and how we can try to take points off Rangers. It is going to be a lot more difficult than the two previous encounters this season in terms of the style of play.
“Michael has brought his own identity, one that I am a little bit familiar with in terms of his DNA was on Rangers from his time with Steven (Gerrard) previously. It is one thing being well-versed on it, it is how you go about stopping it but I will have my own game plan going into Saturday’s game.”
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