Rangers face a one-off play-off match with Galatasaray to make the group stages of the Europa League tonight and Steven Gerrard has a tough decision to make in attack.
One former Ger, who is no stranger to a big European night at Ibrox, is Alan Hutton and, speaking to Football Insider, believes that one summer acquisition could miss out on a place in the starting XI.
So what has Hutton said?
When asked how he thinks Gerrard will line up against the Turkish giants, he said:
“Barisic I think will come in for his experience and his know-how at that sort of level but Hagi I’m not sure, you know.
“I think Jones has done ever so well, he’s got something different, he’s not scared to take people on and he looks confident at the moment. Hagi is that different type of player, he floats in and out.
“Yes, he can create things but he’s not really going to hit anyone with that sort of pace. I just wonder if Gerrard knows it’s going to be a difficult game – he’s favoured the likes of Barker and Kent so I wonder if he’s going to do the same sort of thing and rely on some pace to make opportunities.
“It’s one to look out for but I would give Jones a shot at it and see how it goes.”
So is Hutton correct?
We won’t know until about an hour before kick-off but given the impact that Jordan Jones had against Motherwell, there is every chance that he could start, plus, he hasn’t played much football this season and will be raring to go.
Jones or Hagi?
Jones
Hagi
The difficulty in deciding between the two is their contrasting styles of play, Ianis Hagi could miss out if Jones is selected, but the Romanian playmaker will be dying to play against his dad’s old club and on European nights he has often been the player to produce the moment of magic needed to edge a nervy affair – without him, there is no way Rangers would’ve beaten Braga.
Hutton is right, it comes down to how Gerrard wants to set up, if it’s extra pace on the counter attack it will be Jones, if not, he will entrust Hagi to provide the creative spark, the team won’t be any weaker, the attack will just have a different dimension as he looks to guide his side into the group stages for the third successive year.