RANGERS return to league action this Saturday lunchtime following the first international break of the season, with McDiarmid Park the venue.

Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone play hosts in a 12.30 kick off this weekend in Perth.

Fresh from a cup-double winning season, the Saints lost arguably their two most important players on deadline day in Jason Kerr and Ali McCann - they’ll also be without on-loan Rangers forward Glenn Middleton tomorrow.

Steven Gerrard’s side travels north with a relatively clean bill of health. Ianis Hagi will miss the game after a positive Covid-19 test, however.

St Johnstone StatsBomb scouting report

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Using industry-leading data from our partners at StatsBomb, we can see a good visual of St Johnstone’s attacking style of play from the season so far.

Generally, Davidson's side is a direct team that wants to move possession quickly up the pitch into offensive areas - they're less concerned with playing through the thirds.

They are averaging around 12 shots a game, in line with the league average and their set-piece xG per 90 of 0.29 is slightly above the league median of 0.26. 

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StatsBomb measure them as the joint-most 'direct' team in the division. This is measured by an equation: "A ratio of the distance towards goal from the start of a possession that ended in a shot, divided by the total distance travelled in the build-up to that shot."

As noted, they are not a team that looks to build play patiently. Jamie McCart and the departed Kerr both offer good distribution from the defence which allows for front men to be brought into play.

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St Johnstone also has the second-lowest PPDA average per 90 in the league this season at 5.72. Only Celtic have allowed the opposition less time with the ball before attempting to win possession back - showing their aggression without the ball.

READ MORE: How Brexit is changing Rangers' transfer policy: 'If we operate like we have - that will take us nowhere'

The home side may well maintain this intentional approach and field two strikers tomorrow, to try and limit the visiting side's distribution from the back and push possession wide.

How are they expected to line up?

Rangers Review:

Rangers Review:

Davidson tends to switch between two shapes, either his team play a narrow 3-4-3, or a 3-5-2 with a roaming midfielder. 

Without the energy of Ali McCann, they may well choose to select a more robust midfield to allow them to match up numerically in the middle of the park and as mentioned, afford possession to wide areas.

Chris Kane is an excellent option in matches where his team need to get up the park. He was the most fouled player per 90 in the division last season at 3.19, expect him to try and relieve pressure on his team by earning free kicks.

How have they fared so far this season?

St Johnstone are yet to pick up a win in the league, drawing three of their opening four fixtures in the Scottish Premiership.

Four European qualifiers prior to the international break were likey the priority over domestic affairs, Davidson's men drew with Galatasaray in Turkey and LASK in Austria before exiting the Europa Conference League at the play-off round.

What can we learn from their encounters with Rangers last season?

Rangers beat St Johnstone three times in the league and drew a post-split fixture at McDiarmid Park, before they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup on penalties. 

In that latter fixture, they struggled to create against a narrow defence. Wotherspoon and McCann were able to go man for man on Aribo and Kamara and limit build-up play, affording possession to Rangers' full-backs.

But with a back three more than happy defending crosses, Gerrard's team struggled to create. In hindsight, it felt like a game that would have suited a two-man strike partnership or benefitted from a greater threat in behind to stretch play.

A second-half switch that saw both Rangers full-backs push high to occupy opposing wing-backs allowed Gerrard's team to find more space in front of the defence and overload Liam Craig as the single pivot. It will be interesting to see how the side adapts in-game to the challenges St Johnstone will pose with their five at the back.

A view from the press box

Aidan Smith covers St Johnstone for the Herald.

On the departure of Kerr and McCann: 

"Kerr started out as a midfielder and then moved into defence so he was impressive with the ball at his feet as well as in the tackle. Young Hayden Muller, who arrived on loan from Millwall this summer, has played a number of games so far this season and he looks like a ready replacement for the departing Kerr.

"Ali McCann was by far the standout player in St Johnstone's ranks over the past few seasons and his energy in the middle of the park will be hard to replace. The Northern Irishman has matured into a talented midfielder who is never shy to get his foot on the ball and play forward. His work off the ball will also be missed as he was always keen to get stuck in and win back possession for his side."

READ MORE: Analysis: What went wrong in Rangers' Scottish Cup exit against St Johnstone?

On a depleted squad for tomorrow's match:

"St Johnstone will be low on numbers when they welcome Rangers to Perth. Cammy MacPherson, Craig Bryson, Murray Davidson and Liam Gordon are all set to miss out, while Glenn Middleton will also be absent due to Rangers being his parent club. There could also be another couple of late call-offs for Callum Davidson to deal with."

On the season so far:

"Saints have lacked a goalscoring threat so far this season, but apart from that they have been playing some good football. The defence has been reasonably solid and in the final third they have been creating chances. Davidson."