Rangers are now entering a run of four games in 10 days culminating with the second Old Firm derby of the season at Ibrox and it could be key in deciding the outcome of the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership title race.
First up is St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park against a side which caused us plenty of problems in the home fixture earlier in the season when it took two stunning goals to break them down, they have recovered from a difficult start when performances weren’t being rewarded with points.
They will have been disappointed to drop points against St Mirren from a leading position and will be keen to put things right over the festive period, Steven Gerrard will be hoping that they replicate their tactics from the clash at Ibrox and show attacking intent rather than the ultra-defensive tactics that Motherwell deployed at the weekend.
The next four games will be tough in such a short space of time but there is respite at the other side with no mid-week fixtures, as a result, I’d expect the gaffer to go as strong as possible in the coming games starting with tonight, one thing I would be doing is keeping the same defence for the next four fixtures and elsewhere on the park look to use substitutes earlier to keep legs fresh, making the most of the squad depth we have.
Alfredo Morelos has to come back in, Jermain Defoe has his strengths but against Motherwell the game plan – especially after losing an early goal – just didn’t suit him, when he made way for Cedric Itten there was an almost instant menace to Rangers attack that had been missing.
Result prediction
Win
Draw
Loss
Joe Aribo and Ianis Hagi also looked sharp and it will be interesting to see if there is any rotation in midfield, Scott Arfield has played a lot of games recently and may be rested, Steven Davis could also be kept for the games against Hibs and Celtic given his importance to the side with Bongani Zungu a more than capable deputy.
St Johnstone are no mugs and once again, three points is all that matters, but it would be nice if they are wrapped up quicker than they were against Motherwell.