Rangers vs Hearts. Scottish Premiership.
Ibrox StadiumAttendance49,927.
Saturday 24 February 2018 20:39, UK
Rangers boss Graeme Murty has told his players to "aim high" as they look to cut the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to six points.
The Gers moved second with a 5-3 victory at Hamilton on Sunday, sparking debate over whether Scotland has a title race on its hands.
"We will finish where we deserve to finish at the end of the season, we will be the team we want to be, or closer to the team we want to be, by the end of the season," Murty said.
"But this team is still coming together. We are still in a position where we are improving all the time. If we can carry on getting positive results, who knows what might happen?
"I said to the players just to aim high. Don't worry about anything else, just aim high and be as competitive as we can all the way through the season and have a positive end to the season.
"I expect it to be tighter than last weekend, I don't expect there to be eight goals, and I expect it to be a real challenge.
"But we are confident that the players we have, and the options we have, can cause any team in this league problems. The way we move the ball and the individuals within that structure can cause anyone problems."
Hearts manager Craig Levein said: "We need to play well, whether it quiets the crowd or not. The important thing for me is us starting the game properly.
"Every time you play Rangers at Ibrox you need to play well and start the game well. We need to make sure that we don't do anything silly in the early part of the match and give Rangers reason to feel hopeful.
"It always is [a big test]. Away to Rangers is one of the hardest fixtures in the league. We're aware of that."
Jason Holt returns from suspension for Rangers while Bruno Alves is in contention after a calf problem but Lee Wallace will have to further build up his fitness before making his comeback from groin surgery.
Ryan Jack (knee), Graham Dorrans (ankle) and Ross McCrorie (foot) remain on the sidelines while Jordan Rossiter (ankle) is still out of the first-team reckoning.
Levein is hopeful Steven Naismith will be fit to make the trip. The striker has been suffering from a hamstring injury and will be assessed after returning to training.
Arnaud Djoum (Achilles) and Jamie Brandon (knee) are long-term absentees along with Rory Currie (knee) and Malaury Martin (groin), while Danny Amankwaa has been given extra time to get up to full fitness.
Rangers have lost just one of their last 20 Scottish Premiership matches against Hearts at Ibrox (W14 D5) keeping 11 clean sheets during this period.
However, Hearts did manage to secure a goalless draw in their last trip to Ibrox, their first away point against Rangers in the top flight since picking up all three points with a 2-1 victory back in March 2012.
Rangers have won four of their last five league matches (L1) including a 5-3 away victory against Hamilton last time out.
Hearts have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 Scottish Premiership games (W5 D5 L1).
Josh Windass (10 goals, six assists) and league top scorer Alfredo Morelos (12 goals, four assists) have been directly involved in a league high of 16 goals each so far, this season.
