Rangers v Motherwell: pre-match preview | 5 September 2026

The story before kick-off

Motherwell travel to Ibrox unbeaten in the Premiership for today’s Rangers v Motherwell fixture. Despite Rangers’ recent setbacks, the Ibrox side firmly remain the favourites for today’s match. Still, Rangers clearly haven’t been hitting the heights that the fans expect them to. New personnel, a revolving door of formations, and two European eliminations have produced a side that is far from settled but still dangerous.

Motherwell shouldn’t confuse recent successes in Govan with entitlement. Winning at Ibrox in the past three seasons proves the possibility, but it is still a remarkably tricky ground to go to, particularly with a gelling squad.

Both sides arrive on the back of a midweek win, though by very different routes. Motherwell convincingly beat Dundee United 3-0. Rangers needed two clinical Lawrence Shankland finishes to beat Falkirk 2-1, but still allowed the hosts enough chances to keep the result uncertain. In all honesty, how Falkirk only scored one is a little beyond me.

Europe: two exits in four matches

Rangers began in the Europa League third qualifying round and never recovered from the first leg in Poland. A 2-1 defeat away to Jagiellonia Białystok left them chasing the tie at Ibrox, where a 1-1 draw completed a 3-2 aggregate elimination. It was the first warning that the new side’s margin for error was much smaller than its name recognition suggested.

Dropping into the Conference League offered another route to a league phase. Rangers beat Jablonec 1-0 at home, but lost the second leg 1-0 after extra time in the Czech Republic. With the tie level at 1-1, they went out 4-3 on penalties. Across the four European matches the regulation-and-extra-time record was one win, one draw and two defeats, with three goals scored and four conceded.

The home and away split is quite interesting. Rangers were unbeaten at Ibrox in Europe, conceding once across the two matches; both eliminations were built on away defeats. The problem was not one catastrophic night but an inability to take control of either tie for long enough. Europe is now gone before September, removing both a source of congestion and a major part of the season’s intended reward.

For a club of Rangers’ stature, it’s a staggeringly horrible start to McInnes’ Rangers reign.

Domestic results: improving but not yet recovered

The domestic picture is improving, but it is not yet convincing. Rangers opened with a 1-1 draw at Dundee United, lost 2-1 at home to Hibernian, then won 1-0 at Aberdeen and 2-1 at Falkirk. That leaves Derek McInnes’ side on seven points from four matches, with five goals scored and four conceded. In both Premiership wins, it would be a stretch to say that Rangers looked convincing. Moments of individual brilliance and a calm Shankland penalty paved the way for three points in the North East, but as we mentioned, they really ought to have conceded more in Falkirk. Shankland’s two goals were really well taken, and you get the feeling that the former Hearts captain is just getting started.

The primary outlier remains the League Cup. Rangers beat St Mirren 5-1 at Ibrox, showing what their attacking depth can do once a game opens. Across five domestic fixtures they have three wins, one draw and one defeat, scoring ten and conceding five. Strip out the cup rout and the league remains tight and unresolved.

The early league comparison is awkward. Motherwell are unbeaten on eight points with eight goals scored; Rangers sit one point behind after consecutive wins. Rangers’ greater squad depth still gives them the higher individual ceiling, but Motherwell have produced the more stable collective so far – showing little signs of slowing down after Jens’ blockbuster season. There is potential in spades for this Motherwell side, but it’s far from a guarantee.

Competition labels matter in that form line. Rangers’ sequence includes two narrow league wins and a European tie that ended in elimination. Motherwell’s contains the Freiburg double-header, the Stenhousemuir cup defeat, a 3-3 draw at St Mirren and Wednesday’s 3-0 win. Both clubs have carried continental and domestic demands; neither now has European dates crowding the league schedule.

Opponent dashboard

Rangers in one view

Club profile

Ibrox Stadium

Manager

Derek McInnes

Appointed

June 2026 · three-year deal

2025/26 finish

3rd · 72 points from 38

Squad listed

29 players

Summer signings

12

Home league record

1 played · 0W 0D 1L

Out of Europe since 27 August, after four qualifying ties across two competitions.

Competitive form

4W · 0D · 1L

1. WSt Mirren5–1
2. WJablonec1–0
3. LJablonec0–1
4. WAberdeen1–0
5. WFalkirk2–1

League: played four, seven points, five scored and four conceded.

League start

5th · seven points

Goals for

5

Goals against

4

Clean sheets

1

Failed to score

0

Scored in every league match so far; one clean sheet, at Aberdeen.

Falkirk Stadium response

Falkirk 1–2 Rangers

Shots

16

Shots on target

6

Possession

52%

A fourth win in five, and a second straight away victory by a single goal.

Last five league meetings

2W · 2D · 1L · newest first

1. WApr 2026Ibrox3–2
2. DFeb 2026Fir Park1–1
3. LDec 2025Ibrox0–1
4. DAug 2025Fir Park1–1
5. WMar 2025Ibrox2–1

Motherwell goals: 7 for, 6 against. At Ibrox in this sample, Motherwell have won two of three.

Team news and the moving parts

Djeidi Gassama gives Rangers their most direct carrying threat and created Shankland’s opener at Falkirk. Lawrence Shankland is the penalty-box reference point and captain. Dan Neil is now part of an unresolved midfield picture: Nicolas Raskin and Cammy Devlin started together at Falkirk, but it seems like a rather unsettled midfield picture. Commentators have suggested that Rangers look extremely uncomfortable in possession, particularly in the middle of the park.

Opposition squad

Rangers squad

Players listed

30

Average age (from 30 players)

24.3

Goalkeeper 3

• 1 Ivor Pandur 26
• 31 Liam Kelly 30
• 54 Mason Munn 20

Defender 10

• 2 Ross McCrorie 28
• 4 Ben Godfrey 28
• J 5 John Souttar 30
• 19 Clinton Nsiala 22
• 21 Dujon Sterling 26
• 24 Olwethu Makhanya 22
• 25 Tuur Rommens 23
• J 29 James Penrice 27
• 37 Emmanuel Fernandez 24
• K 18 Kosta Nedeljković 20

Midfielder 10

• 6 Dan Neil 24
• 8 Connor Barron 24
• 14 Cammy Devlin 28
• D 17 Daisuke Yokota 26
• 22 Vanja Dragojević 20
• 23 Djeidi Gassama 23
• 42 Tochi Chukwuani 23
• N 43 Nicolas Raskin 25
• 45 Ross McCausland 23
• 52 Findlay Curtis 20

Forward 7

• 7 Lawrence Shankland 31
• 9 Youssef Chermiti 22
• 20 Ryan Naderi 23
• 28 Bojan Miovski 27
• M 10 Minsu Kim 20
• B Badredine Bouanani 21
• K Kevin Kelsy 22

Opposition focus

Players to watch

Djeidi Gassama

Wide attacker · age 22

Minutes (2 Sep)

90

Goals (2 Sep)

0

Created Shankland’s eighth-minute opener and completed the match. The assist is specific evidence of his ability to turn a wide reception into an immediate chance.

Source: Sky: Falkirk 1–2 Rangers report · Sky: Falkirk–Rangers teams · Rangers: Djeidi Gassama

Rangers’ most direct carrier. Motherwell must close the route inside without leaving the overlapping lane undefended.

Lawrence Shankland

Centre-forward

Minutes (2 Sep)

90

Goals (2 Sep)

2

Scored both Rangers goals at Falkirk: an eighth-minute left-footed finish and the 79th-minute winner. He was replaced in added time.

Source: Sky: Falkirk 1–2 Rangers report · Sky: Falkirk–Rangers teams · Rangers: Lawrence Shankland

Wednesday’s decisive finisher. His movement and economy mean Motherwell cannot allow Rangers’ wide players uncontested service into the box.

Dan Neil

Central midfielder · age 24

Minutes (2 Sep)

0

Goals (2 Sep)

0

Did not feature in the Falkirk matchday squad after starting at Aberdeen. Raskin and Devlin began together instead, making the midfield pair a live selection question.

Source: Sky: Aberdeen–Rangers teams · Sky: Falkirk–Rangers teams · Rangers: Dan Neil

A technically useful option rather than a certain starter. His absence on Wednesday illustrates how far Rangers remain from a settled midfield two.

Where the game could be won

The first question is whether Motherwell can press Rangers’ build-up with full commitment. A newly assembled back line can be hurried before its relationships become automatic, but a half-press is the worst of both worlds: it invites the first pass and leaves the midfield exposed. Motherwell’s press last year was phenomenal though and Johansson seems to be keeping that going. It would be a strong statement to control the ball at Ibrox today.

Rangers’ use of a back four and back three has varied across the early matches, while the midfield pair has continued to change. Ivor Pandur, Emmanuel Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya, Gassama, Minsu Kim and Shankland have supplied more continuity than the structure around them. New forwards Badredine Bouanani and Kevin Kelsy add further one-against-one and penalty-box options.

Sustained attacks, getting the home crowd agitated, frustrating impulsive players like Devlin will be key today. Emmanuel Longelo providing width, baiting a press if Rangers sit back (a crazy sentence to type, but I think they might…), a compact and concentrated rest defence. These can tip the game in Motherwell’s favour.

This, in my view, will have the potential to be another high-scoring game. Motherwell are still the underdogs, but we go to Ibrox with a bit more confidence and swagger than we have before.

The outside view

For a read from the other side of this fixture we asked Kai Watson of Analysing The Scottish Premiership. Kai is a Rangers supporter, so this is a judgement on his own team, not an outsider’s read of it.

From the press room

Build your Motherwell XI