The game is delayed again as the home goalmouth is covered in a sheet of white with more and more toilet rolls being thrown from the visiting fans.

Suggestions are that it is part of a protest against Rangers' proposed friendly against Celtic in Australia in November.

Kick-off is delayed as a stream of toilet rolls are cleared from behind the Dundee goal, but Rangers eventually get the game under way in their all-white change strip.

Mark Hateley
Former Rangers striker on Sportsound

The teams are out on to a sunshine kissed Dens Park.

Who will the sun shine on today by full-time?

A "fully recovered" Dundee manager Mark McGhee tells BBC Scotland he is looking forward to "properly getting to work today" as he sits in the Dens dugout for the first time.

"Last week was horrendous - I wasn't able to enjoy it," he says. "It's very frustrating to not be a part of the game, have a voice in it, but here I am today and I am going to enjoy it."

Jim Duffy
Former Dundee manager on BBC Sportsound

Mark McGhee is hopeful that his side can do better than last week's Scottish Cup defeat by Rangers in his first game as Dundee manager free of a touchline ban.

"We need to keep it a bit tighter for longer," he tells Sky Sports.

"We believe we have the personnel to do that and put on a good show. We have changed the shape and the personnel and we hope that makes the difference."

Rangers manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst is looking for a repeat of last week's 3-0 win at Dens in the Scottish Cup.

"We started off really well last week, a lot of energy and focus," he tells Sky Sports. "That will lead us well today."

On rotating his squad, the Rangers boss says: "I think you have to, especially when it's a lot of weeks with double games.

"We have to change now and then. We have some fresh legs in the team, but the way we play will be the same."

On Aaron Ramsey's first league start, the Dutchman adds: "He started last week as well - and it's good to start again. It's good for the team and he brings something different."

Here's the task facing Mark McGhee's beleaguered hosts if they are to avoid a repeat of last week's Scottish Cup defeat by Rangers and plunge deeper into the relegation mire.

The visitors have lost just once in their last 28 league games, a 3-0 defeat away to now leaders Celtic in February, winning 20 of them.

Will Dundee buck that trend and emerge with an important, if unlikely, win? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs up for no.

Sportsound's coverage from Dens Park is about to kick-off on BBC Radio Scotland.

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley and ex-Dundee defender and boss Jim Duffy join host Kenny Macintyre.

Just click the wee box at the top of this page to listen.

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Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be relieved that Alfredo Morelos has recovered from a knock picked up in midweek to start today considering the striker's record against Dundee.

The Colombian has been directly involved in eight goals in seven Premiership appearances against the Dark Blues - five goals, three assists - scoring or assisting at least once in six of those seven matches.

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Aaron Ramsey's first league start for Rangers is also good news for Wales, who host Austria in Thursday's World Cup play-off semi-final.

Scotland will have more than one eye on that game considering the winner hosts the final against the winners of the delayed semi-final between Steve Clarke's side and Ukraine.

On-loan Juventus midfielder Ramsey will hope to play a key role in midweek - and avoid injury today too!

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Rangers have, of course, had an exhausting trip to Serbia to endure since their last visit to Dens Park.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side survived a stiff test against Red Star Belgrade, 4-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat.

Even though their 11-game unbeaten run came to an end, progress to their first European quarter-final in 14 years should mean Rangers' confidence is sky high, but how much will that have taken out today's visitors in terms of stamina?

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It's safe to say that Mark McGhee's arrival as Dundee boss hasn't had the effect the club's board would have wanted - or expected.

The fans weren't exactly enamoured when James McPake was sacked immediately after two consecutive wins and, since the former Scotland striker took charge, their side hasn't won in six games.

Those have all come with the 64-year-old sitting in the stand thanks to a touchline suspension hanging over him from his days as Aberdeen boss.

McGhee also endured a dose of Covid-19 that forced him to stay away from the ground completely during that spell, but he's back on the touchline today. Can that make the difference and provide the missing spark that'll end a seven-game home run without a win?

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The Light Blues haven't just shaded their Dark Blues rivals in recent meetings - they've usually blown them away.

Goals from defenders Connor Goldson and James Tavernier had Rangers well on their way to the Scottish Cup semi-finals within the first 25 minutes last Sunday, with striker Fashion Sakala adding a late third.

It means the Glasgow side have won the last four meetings with Dundee, scoring 11 times without conceding, since a 1-1 draw at Dens in December 2018.

That followed two more heavy defeats - both by 4-0 - since their last win over Rangers, by 2-1 at Dens the previous November.

Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor returns from injury to replace Harrison Sharp, who has proved an able deputy for Dundee despite being only 20.

Shaun Byrne and Declan McDaid come into midfield, with on-loan Partick Thistle striker Zak Rudden handed a rare start.

Niall McGinn and Max Anderson drop to the bench, with forward Danny Mullen missing out along with centre-half Lee Ashcroft, who was forced off before half-time against Rangers last weekend with a hamstring injury.

Looks like Mark McGhee is going for strength rather than guile this time out.

Aaron Ramsey makes his first league start for Rangers as the on-loan Juventus midfielder, who also started last week's Scottish Cup win at Dens, returns to the side after being a substitute for Thursday's Europa League win over Red Star Belgrade.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst also brings Scott Arfield and James Sands into midfield, with Filip Helander back into central defence in place of Leon Balogun.

It means that striker Alfredo Morelos and midfielder John Lundstram have recovered from midweek knocks, with midfield trio Ryan Jack, Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara dropping to the bench along with Balogun.

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Reigning champions Rangers are playing catch-up in more ways than one as they head to Tayside looking for a repeat of last Sunday's 3-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final win at the same venue.

Playing a day after leaders Celtic thanks to their own Europa League progress, Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side find themselves six points adrift thanks to their city rivals' 4-0 demolition of Ross County yesterday.

Dundee's plight at the bottom, meanwhile, became even more desperate after St Johnstone beat Motherwell 2-1 to open up a four-point gap, while third-bottom Aberdeen's 3-1 victory over Hibernian all but ensured that the only way Mark McGhee's side can escape relegation is to catch the Saints to secure a play-off.

Image source, BBC Sport

Dundee: Lawlor, Kerr, Marshall, Sweeney, McGhee, Byrne, McGowan, McDaid, Elliott, McMullan, Rudden.

Substitutes: Sharp, Mulligan, McCowan, Robertson, Daley-Campbell, Anderson, Ibsen-Rossi, McGinn.

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Bassey, Sands, Lundstram, Arfield, Ramsey, Kent, Morelos.

Substitutes: McLaughlin, Balogun, Barisic, Jack, Aribo, Kamara, Amad, Roofe, Sakala.

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