Rangers head to St Mirren on Saturday with a chance to tighten the Scottish Premiership title race, and the stakes are clear: a win would cut Celtic's lead to one point before the Hoops host Kilmarnock on Sunday.
The game, which is live on Sky Sports, comes during a busy weekend of fixtures before the international break. Rangers arrive in Paisley unbeaten in the league since mid-August, a run that has kept them within touching distance of the top. St Mirren, by contrast, have been struggling for league form and will be looking for a response on home soil.
Earlier this season, St Mirren already felt the difference between the two sides. Rangers beat them 5-1 in the League Cup and also won 1-0 in the league, so Stephen Robinson's team knows the scale of the task in front of them. That does not make the meeting straightforward for Rangers, though. Away trips to Paisley rarely are, and this is the kind of match that can shape the mood around a title challenge.
What the weekend means for both sides
For Rangers, the equation is simple. Three points would apply pressure on Celtic and keep momentum going at an important stage of the season. Derek McInnes' side have managed to stay consistent enough to make this stretch matter, and another result here would continue that trend.
For St Mirren, the focus is less about the table and more about stopping the slide. They have already been beaten twice by Rangers this season, and a third defeat would leave them with a familiar problem: competitive performances without enough reward. In a round like this, that can quickly become a bigger issue, especially with a number of other teams across the league also trying to build momentum before the break.
The broader picture is that Rangers are not just playing St Mirren for one result. They are trying to maintain the pressure on Celtic while keeping their own run intact. With Celtic at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday, the weekend offers Rangers a real opportunity to make the title race look a little tighter.
That is the immediate appeal of this fixture. Rangers have the chance to turn a solid league run into something more meaningful, while St Mirren will be hoping to derail that push and find the kind of result that changes the tone of their season.
