By Russell Edge

4th May, 2017 | 1:31pm

Striker to prove a point: Three things to expect from Rangers in clash v Partick Thistle

COMMENT by Russell Edge

Rangers travel to Firhill hoping to bounce back from what was a truly devastating home defeat to Old Firm rivals Celtic.

They were hammered 5-1 at Ibrox and failed to show any real quality in a very one-sided grudge match.

They are a long way off challenging Celtic, but up next they face a Partick Thistle side 16 points behind the Gers, so they should be feeling much more confident this time around.

Here, Football Insider analyses three things we can expect from the clash at Firhill:

Kenny Miller back to his best

37-year-old Kenny Miller has proven throughout his career he knows where the net is. He proved that again last Saturday after slotting home a well-worked goal, but he will be left seething with the result.

Miller will be hoping to prove those doubting Rangers wrong, so expect to see an all-action performance from the striker, who has got 10 goals in the league this season.

Partick Thistle certainly will not pose as much of a challenge as their Glasgow rivals, so expect to see Miller get on the scoresheet more than once.

A slow start to proceedings

It is fair to say that neither of these sides burst out of the blocks in games, instead waiting patiently to settle on the ball.

Between them, Rangers and Thistle have scored just six goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches, with the final half an hour of the game where most of the action takes place.

If one team were to score in the first half, you would fancy the home side, with Rangers conceding the first goal, on average, in the 38th minute.

A feisty affair

You would have expected the Old Firm derby to see yellow cards being dished out left, right and centre, but only four players managed to make their way into the referee’s book.

However, you can expect a little bit more fight from the Partick Thistle players, with four players having received their marching orders this season, three for second yellow cards and one straight red.

Rangers meanwhile have seen two men receive straight reds, with another two sent off for second bookable offences.

With the end of season approaching, players are going to start letting out their frustrations and this could see one or two rash challenges or moments of madness.

• Football Insider prediction: Partick Thistle 1 – 3 Rangers

In other Rangers news, Football Insider expects just the one change to Rangers’ starting XI at Firhill.

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