Rangers endured a poor first portion of the 2022-23 campaign and will be looking for new boss Michael Beale to breathe some new life into the side in the coming months.
Before the World Cup break, Rangers had won just two matches in seven attempts across all competitions, with dropped points in the league and some heavy defeats in Europe, leaving them second in the Scottish Premiership while being nine points behind rivals Celtic.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was subsequently relieved of his duties in the aftermath, leading to the appointment of Beale from Queens Park Rangers late last month.
In a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, Beale managed to get off to a successful start courtesy of a double from Malik Tillman and a strike from Scott Arfield.
Nevertheless, the real action starts on Thursday for Rangers, where a win could temporarily shorten the margin between themselves and Celtic, who play on Saturday away to Aberdeen.
Hibernian have been in rather inconsistent league form this season, finding themselves in eighth position under Lee Johnson as they gear up for a trip to Glasgow.
Despite starting the campaign positively, the Hibees have won just one of their last five matches in the league and need to start picking up results to stay in the hunt for continental qualification.
During the break, they have also been rocked by the news that star player Ryan Porteous will not be signing a new deal at Easter Road, which could tempt Hibernian to sell him in January rather than lose him for free in the summer.
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Stepping up their preparation for the return of the Scottish Premiership, Hibernian have been involved in friendlies against Middlesbrough and Raith Rovers, allowing Johnson to assess the fitness of his squad.
If Hibernian secure three points on Thursday, they could move as high as fourth in the league table due to their divisional rivals not being in action until the weekend.
Fashion Sakala could return for Rangers against Hibernian, following his return from injury in the friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.
Ianis Hagi and Tom Lawrence are expected to be sidelined for the match, despite hope that they could return to the fold upon the conclusion of the break for the World Cup
