I’ve never, and never will be, a fan of starting with a weakened team and then having to make changes if a game isn’t going our way, with five substitutes now available for managers there is no need for this.
Against Partick Thistle, it almost bit us on the backside as Michael Beale went with a team that was short of game time and equally as short of cohesion with too many players trying to occupy the same space – they should have had enough quality to control a game against lower league opposition.
Livingston away is an entirely different matter though and, with the league cup final a week away, we should see something pretty close to the starting XI for next week, injuries permitting.
The gaffer spoke about a few issues in midfield but this is what I would expect him to go with to bring the three points back to Ibrox:
The defence speaks for itself and even though Connor Goldson has had a slight calf issue, he was still fit enough to be selected on the bench last week so, it can’t be anything too sinister, and I’d expect him to take his place alongside Ben Davies again.
The first choice front four should also be restored, Antonio Colak looked a lot better once he started getting decent service and wasn’t isolated but Alfredo Morelos remains our number nine for now with Fashion Sakala also making a welcome return – his pace and ability to cause problems 1v1 was sorely missed against Thistle.
Midfield is where we might have an issue though, Ryan Jack will probably be absent, John Lundstram is only just back in training after an ankle problem – an artificial pitch and ankle injuries tend not to go well together – and Nico Raskin, according to Beale, suffered the usual side effects from playing his first full game in a few months.
If Raskin is just muscle soreness then I’d expect him to start with James Sands coming off the bench to replace him, if he has something more specific like tight calves then he probably shouldn’t be risked from the first whistle.
We’ve lost a ridiculous number of early goals against teams like Livingston this season, including two against them already, after a slow start last week I’d expect us to be flying out of the traps and set a real marker down for next week – cup final shirts are up for grabs, let’s hope we see a performance from those looking to claim them.