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Hearts v Rangers

Hearts and Rangers clash for the second Sunday in a row as they travel to Hampden Park for the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup. This should be a cracker in what will be a packed-out national stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

Phillipe Clement has hit the ground running since taking the reins at Rangers and will have his eyes on his first piece of silverware, with Celtic already eliminated. Meanwhile, Steven Naismith will try to write his name in the Hearts history books as he looks to guide his side to their first win over Rangers at Hampden Park. 

There will be an extra bite to this game after Rangers nicked all 3 points in stoppage time against Hearts last weekend despite trailing until the 90th minute. 

Sunday’s referee Nick Walsh has been in charge of two games involving each side this season, dishing out the yellow cards 4 times to Rangers as well as 3 to The Jambos. We’ve picked out 5 players who could be in with a chance of going into Walsh’s book on Sunday, with 2 Rangers players and 3 Hearts players highlighted.

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Alex Cochrane

My first pick to look out for is Hearts full back Alex Cochrane. It’s safe to say the young left wing back likes to get stuck in and is prone to a bad tackle here and there. A Hearts pre-season friendly was abandoned after Alex Cochrane’s poor challenge led to a teamwide scrap on the pitch. 

Cochrane struggled a bit up against the physical presence of Sam Lammers at Ibrox on Saturday, combined with the quality of James Tavernier and Todd Cantwell down his side which saw him cautioned after his second foul of the afternoon. Cochrane will face the same task here and has been public about how his side wanting revenge after gifting Rangers all the points last week. One of the biggest tasks Cochrane faces is keeping Cantwell at bay, who won 5 fouls against Hearts last week. 

So far in the league this season, Cochrane is averaging 1 foul per game this season. Although this is less than some others, we think Cochrane is still one of the best picks here as the Englishman can be quite hot-headed on big occasions.

Prediction: Alex Cochrane to be shown a card @ 3.40

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Cammy Devlin

Hearts’ hardman, Cammy Devlin, is our second pick for a potential booking here. The 5ft 7in defensive midfielder is known for his aggressive style of play in the middle and is notorious for giving away fouls. 

Against Celtic a few weeks back, Devlin was criticised for the way he played throughout the 80 minutes he featured, leaving Celtic fans baffled as to how he avoided a booking after being at Reo Hatate all game as he committed 3 fouls. Devlin was also slated online for going down with the slightest push from Hatate which brings the risk of a booking for simulation too if he tries to pull that trick again.

Devlin was hooked at half time against Livingston in midweek after picking up a booking in the first half for pulling down Joel Nouble. Hearts boss Steven Naismith described it as a tactical attacking substitution as the Jambos pushed for an opener. Naismith highlighted that Devlin’s key attributes are his tackling and positioning in the middle, which may be more useful on Sunday.

The Aussie is averaging 1.3 fouls per game this season, and if he does start he will definitely get stuck in and will be up against it against an in-form Rangers side. Devlin has already picked up 5 bookings in just 8 starts in Hearts’ league campaign so far, so he is definitely one to watch on Sunday.

Prediction: Cammy Devlin to be shown a card @ 2.70

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John Lundstram

The third pick for this semi final clash is experienced Rangers midfielder John Lundstram, who seems to be thriving under new management. The midfielder has always been around the fouls and cards since his move up to Glasgow and isn’t scared to take a booking for his team. This season, Lundstram has been shown 2 yellow cards in the league whilst averaging 1.2 fouls per game and should be one of the few players who will play the full 90 as Clement experiments to find his best team in other areas. 

We’re expecting a battle in the midfield on Saturday, especially if Cammy Devlin features as the Aussie has won an average of 1.9 fouls per game this season. Hearts pose other threats in the midfield with the likes of Beni Baningime and Calem Nieuwenhof carrying the potential to cause issues for Lundstram to manage, he could have his hands full here. 

The Englishman was shown a yellow against Hearts last weekend as his side were frustrated early on, but Lundstram is also prone to tactical fouls to stop counter-attacks so there is scope for Rangers’ main man in midfield to get booked regardless of how the match pans out.

Prediction: John Lundstram to be shown a card @ 3.30

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Connor Goldson

Similarly to John Lundstram, Connor Goldson should be another cert to play the 90 on Sunday. Clement has tried 3 different centre-back partners alongside Goldson in his 4 games in charge. 

Goldson is an aggressive centre-back who will put his body on the line to stop pretty much anything, which can open him up to bookings. The centre-back made a superb last-ditch tackle early on in Rangers’ stop-start clash against Dundee midweek, celebrating it like a goal in front of the large away support but this just highlights his passion and commitment to the Gers.

Goldson often faces a bit of controversy around handballs and going down easily in the opposition’s box which could lead to bookings with VAR operating at Hampden on Sunday. 

Goldson has averaged 0.6 fouls per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, but he loves the big stage and will be directly trying to stop the path of Lawrence Shankland who managed to score at Ibrox last week. The Scotland striker is a physical presence up top and his stats back this up with him being fouled 0.9 times per match alongside fouling 1.3 times. 

Goldson has picked up 2 yellows in the league so far alongside 2 in Europe, with him likely to play the full game in a semi final at Hampden, we think he is a good shout for a card. 

Prediction: Connor Goldson to be shown a card @ 3.60

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Kye Rowles

The final selection looks at another Aussie within the Hearts dressing room, centre-back Kye Rowles who featured at last year’s World Cup alongside Harry Souttar. Rowles has played every single minute in Hearts’ league campaign so far and is in great form. 

Kye Rowles is a left-sided centre-back who last week featured on the left of Hearts’ back 3 formation, leaving him to deal with Rangers’ attacking threats down the right. Hearts could line up with a similar formation as their tactics worked for 90 minutes last week until the late drama at Ibrox. 

The defender committed 2 fouls last weekend against Rangers as he battled it out with Tavenier and Cantwell down his side. The Australia international has picked up 2 yellow cards in the league this season with 1 of them being picked up with Nick Walsh in charge against St Mirren. 

In these sides’ last 2 meetings, Rowles has committed 6 fouls across the 2 games and was booked after committing 4 fouls back in May when he played left back. Despite the quality of Rowles, we think he might struggle to contain the quality of Tavernier and the ability of Cantwell to draw fouls.

Prediction: Kye Rowles to be shown a card @ 2.80

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