So, Hibs have lost five of their last seven league games and have only won against St Johnstone with their opponents down to ten men, should be an easy three points tonight then, that’s how it works eh?
We all know that isn’t going to be the case and that Jack Ross’s side will turn up and play as if their lives depended on it, that they had t-shirts printed to celebrate beating us in the league cup semi-final says it all about where their priorities lie.
For us, it’s about continuing the good start that Giovanni van Bronckhorst has made to life as Rangers manager, Hibs might be many things but they aren’t the sort of team to just sit in and look to defend with Martin Boyle, again, likely to be their biggest threat – with Calvin Bassey set to continue at the heart of our defence, his pace should be used to nullify the striker’s threat in behind.
The shape will remain the same but we could see a couple of changes to the line-up in an attempt to exploit their weaknesses:
Hell hath no fury like El Bufalo scorned and there is nothing Alfredo Morelos will want more than to avenge the defeat at Hampden, not only to silence his own critics but to remind those that doubt him that he is still a force to be reckoned with.
The defence picks itself but there will be a subtle tweak to it, I don’t think the full-backs will play as high as they normally do to protect the space in behind, particualry on the counter attack, if one of them goes, I’d expect the other to be sitting back.
Fashion Sakala’s form deserves a start, in ten league appearances he has better than a goal every 90 minutes, this isn’t a slight on Ianis Hagi or how he has been playing, I just think that with more space and opportunities to counter attack, the Zambian international’s pace and finishing ability could prove useful.
The midfield is a tricky one, Glen Kamara appears to be first pick and we’ll soon find out whether or not Steven Davis was just being rested against Livingston if he is restored to the line-up, because of the demands on the midfield two though, I’d prefer Ryan Jack to come in – if he is fit enough – it suits his game more to play in this sort of shape and I don’t think the Northern Ireland captain is in the greatest of form.
We know it’s going to be a tough game despite their recent results, Christian Doidge is suspended but Boyle returns after his one game ban, although they didn’t miss him at the weekend with Jamie Murphy showing that he can still produce the goods, we need to be more clinical in attack and aggressive in defensive if we are to win – three points tonight would not only be a huge confidence boost heading into a massive run of fixtures but would show the rest of the league that we are still the team to beat.