Soccer / Football : Scotland : Premier League 2007/2008

sports betting news

Rangers 6.5 : Goalkeeper Allan McGregor will miss the remainder of the season after failing to recover from an ankle injury. The Scottish international was injured playing against Celtic on April 16. McGregor will also miss the UEFA Cup final, where his backup Neil Alexande will face Zenit St. Petersburg despite having played only eight games for Rangers.

Rangers 29.4 : Defender David Weir will likely miss Thursday's UEFA Cup semi-final second-leg tie at Fiorentina. The 37-year-old suffered a groin strain during last weekend's 3-2 defeat against city rivals Celtic. In Weir's absence, Christian Dailly could partner Carlos Cuellar at centre-back. Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Chris Burke, Steven Naismith and Charlie Adam all look to be sidelined as Rangers aim to reach the UEFA Cup final in Manchester on May 14.

Rangers 22.4 : Steven Naismith and Chris Burke will miss Thursday's UEFA Cup semi-final first leg against Fiorentina after picking up injuries at the weekend. Rangers are through to the Scottish Cup final after a penalty shoot-out victory over Saint Johnstone on Sunday, but the win has come at a price. Naismith sustained a knee injury and Burke a knock to his ankle.

Manager Walter Smith is already without Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Charlie Adam and DaMarcus Beasley while captain Barry Ferguson and fellow midfielder Kevin Thomson are suspended for the opener against Fiorentina. Striker Kris Boyd is also recovering from a bout of food poisoning which prevented him from featuring against Saint Johnstone.

Rangers 20.4 : Rangers's UEFA Cup ambitions have been dealt a significant blow after influential midfielder Lee McCulloch was ruled out for a minimum of six weeks. The 29-year-old injured his right ankle in Wednesday's 2-1 league defeat by Celtic and subsequent scans have revealed that McCulloch is likely to miss the rest of the campaign. Captain Barry Ferguson and fellow midfielder Kevin Thomson are already ruled out of Thursday's UEFA Cup semi-final first leg against Fiorentina through suspension, while goalkeeper Allan McGregor also has an ankle injury.

Rangers 17.4 : Goalkeeper Allan McGregor and midfielder Lee McCulloch are likely to miss both UEFA Cup semi-final legs against Fiorentina due to ankle injuries sustained in Wednesday's defeat by Celtic. McGregor, 26, will be out for about two weeks, while McCulloch's problem is worse and the 29-year-old will have further scans to determine the full extent of his injury. Rangers are already without midfielders Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson for the first leg at Ibrox on April 24 due to suspension, while Charlie Adam is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Rangers 16.4 : Midfielder Charlie Adam will miss the remainder of the season after discovering that his knee injury is worse than initially diagnosed. The 22-year-old was hurt in an accidental challenge during preparations for the Ibrox club's UEFA Cup quarter-final with Sporting Lisbon. It leaves manager Walter Smith with a potential headache for his side's forthcoming UEFA Cup semi-final against Fiorentina. Rangers host Fiorentina on April 24 before travelling to Italy for the second leg on May 1.

Gretna 27.3 : Gretna have released nine of their senior players as part of efforts to cut costs. David Bingham, Mark Birch, Mickael Buscher, Aurelien Collin, Chris Innes, Henry Makinwa, David Mathieson, Erik Paartalu and Michael Tait have all left the Scottish Premier League club, who could now struggle to raise a team for their remaining league matches. Gretna, already bottom before a 10-point deduction for going into financial administration earlier this month, also released 13 youth players and six community coaches.

Gretna 13.3 : Gretna might not have enough players to field a team because of their continued financial problems. David Elliot, who is in control of the club while they are in financial administration, said that their players are free to join other teams during the week, as the club cannot pay their salaries. Gretna could face further fines and penalties if they cannot field a team to play at Aberdeen on Saturday.

Even if they survive to keep playing, Gretna are now almost certain to be relegated from the Scottish Premier League. They are last in the standings and have only six points, 21 behind 11th-place St. Mirren, after they were docked 10 points for going into administration on Wednesday. Gretna's problems started when backer Brooks Mileson fell ill and was forced to withdraw his financial support.

last results

home win - draw - away win (1-x-2)

Scottish Premier League : 50% - 21% - 29%