With little but pride and hope to play for domestically, Steven Gerrard will hoping to put the recent inconsistency and below-par performances behind as his players look to prove they can still be trusted to bear the weight of the Light Blue shirt.
He will still be unable to call upon his most experienced defender in Filip Helander after announcing in his pre-match press conference that the giant Swede is to start full training again on Friday – a welcome addition to the squad when he does return to competitive action – so, the defence should be the same as the one that performed manfully in Portugal against Braga but were a shambles against Hearts.
In midfield, he will be without the services of Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield so a threesome of Steven Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo is the most likely, unless the Ibrox gaffer takes the unlikely step of changing formation.
His biggest decision will be in attack where Ryan Kent has looked closer to his old self in recent performances, Ianis Hagi has continued to impress and Florian Kamberi has looked sharp but with Alfredo Morelos returning to the match day squad and available for selection, it will be an eagerly anticipated line-up despite there being little chance of Rangers clawing back the 12 point deficit to Celtic.
Gerrard has the option of playing Hagi as a number 10 in front of two central midfielders in a slight tactical tweak which would allow him to play Kamberi, Kent and Morelos together in – arguably – Rangers most dangerous strike force and it would also give the Light Blues fans something to get excited about.
Does Gerrard need to make a formation change for Scottish football?
Yes
No
Hagi has shown that he isn’t scared to get “stuck in” and perform the defensive duties required in Scottish football and with the Gers likely to dominate the ball, having the Romanian international as the creative fulcrum could provide the ammunition for Morelos to get back on the goal trail.
Ibrox could be a toxic atmosphere after the weekend’s Scottish Cup exit but an early goal and a positive performance would go a long way in repairing some of the damage caused by yet another collapse at the hands of “inferior” opposition.