Rangers return to league action and face Motherwell at Ibrox in a much delayed Flag Day fixture where the unfurling of the championship flag for 2020/21 will take place.
There’s something not quite right about Steven Gerrard’s side just now and he will be looking for a marked improvement on what he has seen recently, the potential loss of both Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos unlikely to lift his spirits either.
Their absence does though create an opportunity, we have missed Ianis Hagi’s creativity but Scott Wright is available and Juninho Bacuna should be given game time to get up to full speed.
It’s not an easy team to pick but, this is the team I think the gaffer will go with:
We need consistency of selection as much as possible, rotating personnel is one thing but when we are losing players all over the place for various reasons, the last thing we need is to be making five or six changes.
I’d keep Leon Balogun in for this weekend – he was one of few to come out of the Lyon game with any real credit – and bring Jack Simpson in for the cup game in mid-week, I’d keep the rest of the defence the same.
Midfield is slightly harder to call, we can’t keep playing Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara and Steven Davis every game plus, we’ve not been at our best in terms of creating chances, picking the same midfield could lead to the same problems.
John Lundstram was, whether you like it or not, one of our best players against Lyon and looked good in the central role against Dunfermline with Aribo and Kamara either side of him, if Bacuna is fit, it would be the perfect time to see what he is capable of.
There is also no point risking Kent and Morelos with Roofe and Fashion Sakala relatively fresh, a mixture of guile and pace that could work well with Wright behind them.
It’s getting to stage now where we really need some encouragement that it has just been a dip in form and that there isn’t structural issue with the team, fresh legs and fresh bodies might jsut be what is needed to get us out the rut.