Following Hearts defeat to St Mirren last night, Rangers can cut the gap at the top to three points heading into their upcoming Valentine’s weekend fixture with the Jambos in Govan.
There is parallel pressure elsewhere, with Celtic, currently second on goal difference ahead of Danny Rohl’s side, travelling north to face Aberdeen at Pittodrie tonight.
Against that league backdrop, squad management remains central, reflected in the expected absence of Dujon Sterling. The defender will not feature versus Kilmarnock and is instead scheduled to appear in the Rangers pre-match fan zone at Edmiston House.
His omission is precautionary, part of a deliberate minutes-management plan rather than a fresh issue.
Sterling’s season has been stop-start. An Achilles injury ruled him out at the end of the previous campaign before he returned to the bench against Falkirk in late November.
Minutes followed away to Ferencváros, and just over a week later he made his first start against Hibs.
A subsequent muscle problem disrupted that run, causing him to miss Aberdeen away, Annan at home, Dundee at home, Hibs away and European ties with Ludogorets and Porto.
His 86-minute outing in Sunday’s 0–0 draw at Hibs was a positive step, but with demanding fixtures ahead against title rivals, Hearts, Motherwell, and Celtic, the priority is preserving his availability for that sequence.
Tuur Rommens could be in line to debut, likely from the bench while Rangers fans will be hoping to see the best of exciting new signing Andreas Skov Olsen, who has had a slow first two matches following his loan arrival from German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg last month.
Deadline day signing Ryan Naderi could also debut against the Rugby Park side.
There is added narrative on the away bench. Neil McCann, assistant to Barry Ferguson last season, returns to Ibrox as Kilmarnock manager for the first time. He does so without Findlay Curtis, who is ineligible against his parent club.
Tactically, Rangers are hoping to to emphasise tempo and territorial control. McCann’s sides tend to compress central zones and defend with structure, which places importance on width, circulation speed and second-ball recovery.
The equation is straightforward: win, and the table tightens significantly before a pivotal run. The challenge is to secure those points without compromising the squad’s condition for what follows.