Rangers vs Partick Thistle: Live stream, team news, managers’ thoughts & highlights details for Scottish Cup tie

Rangers entertain Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle in their Scottish Cup fifth round tie at Ibrox on Sunday, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

The current holders, who are returning to the national stadium later this month for the League Cup final against Celtic, will be aiming to take another big step towards another date at Hampden in the latter stages of this tournament as well.

Michael Beale’s side are strong favourites to progress and it would be deemed as a massive shock if the Firhill club can spring a major upset by ending the Englishman’s unbeaten start to his Ibrox tenure.

The Jags, who defeated League One leaders Dunfermline Athletic on penalites after the scoreline was tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes in the previous round, will already know they face a mammoth task against the Light Blues on home soil and with Beale chasing down silverware during his first few months in charge in Govan.

Their defence of the Scottish Cup trophy - their first in 13 years last season - continued with a narrow 1-0 away victory over St Johnstone, courtesy of Borna Barisic’s strike which proved enough to send them through to the last-16.

Thistle currently sit in 4th spot in the Championship table after losing back-to-back matches against bottom side Hamilton Accies and fellow strugglers Cove Rangers in recent weeks, with boss Ian McCall conceding their title chances are over unless the can stage an impressive winning streak.

It is the first competitive meeting between the two clubs since February 201 when Rangers prevailed 2-0 in Maryhill thanks to goals from Josh Windass and James Tavernier. More recently, Steven Gerrard led the Gers’ to a 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Thistle in July 2021.

We’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: Rangers vs Partick Thistle (Scottish Cup - Fifth Round)

Where: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow

When: Sunday, February 12th – kick-off 4pm (UK time)

Odds: Rangers 1/11 | Draw 8/1 | Partick Thistle 20/1 (*Odds from Skybet.com correct at time of writing*)

How to watch on TV – Is there a live stream?

Yes, the game will not be broadcast live on Viaplay Sports 1. Coverage begins at 3.30pm - half an hour before kick-off. Viaplay customers will be able to stream the match live via their website.

BBC Radio Scotland will provide live coverage on on 92 - 95 FM and 810 MW. Sportscene highlights will be aired at 7.15pm and repeated again at 11.30pm, 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. Hearts TV are covering the match for £12.99.

Who are the match officials?

Referee David Munro is the man in the middle. He will be assisted by Dougie Potter and Craig Ferguson, with Chris Graham named as the fourth official. Steven Kirkland is in charge of VAR.

What’s the latest team news?

Michael Beale is hoping to have an almost full squad of players back in contention soon, with only Filip Helander and Steven Davis out long-term.

The Englishman could be set to hand new signing Nicolas Raskin his first start after making his debut as a late substitute in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Ross County, while the likes of Antonio Colak, who has “looked very strong in training” and Ianis Hagi are expected to start and be given valuable game time after lengthy spells out through injury.

John Souttar and Tom Lawrence are “working hard and doing individual work,” while Kemar Roofe has returned to full training and “is looking sharp.” Midfielders Alex Lowry, Scott Wright and James Sands are three others who could benefit from more first-team minutes.

John Lundstram suffered an ankle knock which forced him off last Saturday and “won’t be available” but “will definitely be back for the (League Cup) final at the end of this month. Left-back Ridvan Yilmaz is “about three weeks” away from a return to action.

Partick Thistle have been decimated by injuries in recent weeks, but they have a near-full compliment of players to select from. Gers loanee Cole McKinnon is ineligible to face his parent club, while captain Ross Docherty faces a late fitness test after picking up a niggle. Cammy Smith and Steven Lawless are back in contention.

What have both managers’ said?

Michael Beale:

Rangers boss Michael Beale is relishing the chance to play a team outside of the Scottish Premiership this weekend, institing Partick Thistle will be up right for the battle.

He said: “We are in one cup final and we want to progress in the other. We have to perform to our best on Sunday. When you are at this club it is relentless, you have too just keep winning.

“It will be an interesting game especially because they’re going to bring 2,500 fans which shows the support they have. We play a lot of teams three or four times a season so it is nice to place a team that is not in our league.

”But we have to focus on ourselves and need to push our standards and not drop from it in terms of attitude. They have nothing to lose so we expect a top performance from them. I’m still looking for a greater level of performance despite us playing well.”

Beale confessed he has built up a close friendship with Partick boss Ian McCall ever since the Englshman first came to Glasgow. He admitted: “I know ‘Cally’ really well. He’s a guy I’ve known since I first came up here, he’s been my friend in that time. He sent me a lovely letter when I got the job at QPR which was a very nice gesture for him to do.

“He showed a touch of class. He’s someone we’ve loaned players to this season and before. I know him outside of football and I wish him well. He’s got a lot of SPL experience in his squad.”

Ian McCall:

Partick Thistle boss Ian McCall admits the club have generated a “serious amount of money” from the tie being played at Ibrox, which will aid their cause going forward and reckons the occasion should inspire his players are two disappointing league defeats which dented their title chances.

He said: “I’m very aware of the financial stuff that’s going at the club, so I think it’s very welcome. You always budget to go out in the first round of every cup. and we got to the quarter-finals of the League Cup and we’re now in the last-16 against Rangers at Ibrox, so it’s a serious amount of money that we’ve brought in.

“We will need to be at our best and we will need to play a different way. I don’t think we will be able to go there and play the way we did earlier in the season or more recently against Ayr and Inverness. For a lot of the players I think the occasion will lift them and I don’t think confidence is too down because we are still very much in the play-off positions.

“We keep reminding people that they have done ever so well in the Cups this year as well. We were on a really good run of form and our last two home games have really hurt us in terms of the league position. If we had taken the points we would be in second place and would have won eight out of 10, which is very good.

“It is not going to be easy but I don’t see it differently to many of the Premiership clubs that go there, As you all know, Rangers need to play poorly and we need to be lucky. Sometimes you can get a result. A lot of players have been to Ibrox before. There are one or two of them for whom it will be a new thing - and thay’s great for them. Hopefully that will inspire them to a really good performance.”