Michael Beale’s side have responded emphatically to the disappointment of losing the Scottish League Cup final to Celtic at the end of February, scoring seven goals across their subsequent two league games.
Wednesday’s trip to the capital was particularly impressive, with Beale’s insistence that his side could have netted eight times hardly hyperbolic; Rangers racked up 31 shots against Hibs, the club’s highest tally in an away game all season.
James Tavernier quickly cancelled out Connor Goldson’s own goal before Antonio Colak found the net in the league for the first time since October, bagging a brace on either side of Fashion Sakala’s sharp finish.
Rangers lifted the Scottish Cup for a 34th time last season after Ryan Jack and Scott Wright finally broke Hearts’ resolve in extra time – the Gers have not lost a match in this competition inside 120 minutes since the Jambos knocked them out of the quarter-finals in 2020
Raith Rovers, conversely, have never won the second-oldest competition in football history, only reaching one final all the way back in 1913 – however, Rovers have made it to the semi-finals as recently as 2010, when they were knocked out by eventual champions Dundee United.
To earn the club’s first quarter-final berth in eight years, Ian Murray led his side to victories over non-league Auchinleck Talbot and Linlithgow Rose before romping past top-flight Motherwell in the round of 16 – the 3-1 defeat Rovers inflicted was so damning that Well manager Steven Hammell was sacked after the loss.
The Rovers had strung together a 14-game unbeaten sequence across all competitions before Partick Thistle took them apart last weekend – although, they still sit seventh in the Championship, comfortably clear of the relegation zone but eight points off promotion pace.
There is some hope for an upset as the Fife outfit travelled to Ibrox and knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup in 2015 – but the Gers have lost just three home cup ties in the subsequent eight years.
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However, Murray’s personal record against the Glasgow giants does not inspire a great deal of confidence; the current Rovers manager has lost all eight of his career meetings with Rangers, watching his sides concede 22 goals in the process.
Beale has a raft of fitness concerns to carry into this cup clash, limiting his scope for rotation as the likes of Tom Lawrence and Steven Davis have both been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee injuries.
Ridvan Yilmaz is nearing the conclusion of his recovery from a hamstring problem but is highly unlikely to start this weekend and may yet remain on the sidelines with fellow defender Filip Helander (foot).
