Rangers at home to Partick Thistle should be exactly the type of game where we don’t need two defensive midfielders and can play two strikers rather than one with support from an attacking midfielder or wide forward.
We will dominate possession and get plenty of chances so you would like to think that it is the ideal chance to give Antonio Colak some much needed minutes as he looks to rediscover his early season sharpness where he seemed to be carrying the team on his own.
Thankfully, Michael Beale agrees and we could well see a pairing that the Gers gaffer has been hinting at for some time, as reported by The Rangers Review:
“It is definitely a chance for Colak to play. I think he has waited frustratingly on the sidelines to get an opportunity.
“Alfredo has been in good form and in all fairness to Antonio he has not been 100 per cent fit in the time that I have been here.
“He has had a really good ten days now of solid training and he looks strong. Early days but the team news is Colak will play.
“Whether he plays with Alfredo or not we will decide nearer the time.”
One of the reasons that playing with Fashion Sakala alongside Alfredo Morelos has worked is because of his pace. His ability to get in behind defences either from out wide or by running past Morelos when he drops deep, it is an entirely different dynamic with Colak and the Colombian.
For a start, you would expect Colak to stay the width of the goals and time his runs rather than dropping deeper to link play – we have enough creative midfielders in the team and our number nine doesn’t need to get involved too.
There will be a few changes, however, playing only once a week means that we should be focussing preparations towards the league cup final in a couple of weeks time. Colak and Morelos might not start that one together, however, the sharper the pair are, the better it will be for our chances of success – a few goals and a confidence boost wouldn’t go a miss either.