Rangers head to Pittodrie tonight for the first of their two re-arranged fixtures from before the winter break was moved for the benefit of Celtic, sorry, the fans.
The most notable absentee from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad is Joe Aribo who is currently running the African Cup of Nations with Filip Helander, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Scott Arfield also unavailable but we should see them returning in the near future.
Given the absentees in midfield there is going to be a great opportunity for someone to set a marker and stake their claim for a more regular start, their inspiration would be Calvin Bassey who has made the left-sided centre-half position his own, it is very much his to lose now.
With the squad available, this is the team I think Gio will go with to get 2022 off to a flyer:
I can’t see us going with anything other than Ianis Hagi at number 10 and Scott Wright on the right-had side of attack, it gives us pace and creativity and both deserve the opportunity to impress.
In midfield, it’s either John Lundstram or Juninho Bacuna next to Glen Kamara, if the game had been at Ibrox I’d have expected the latter, however, the Englishman’s extra physicality may be needed against a team not known for their finesse, a decision that might not go down well with the Ibrox crowd.
The last time Kamara and Lundstram played together was against Dundee United and it only lasted 45 minutes before a change was made, however, it was more to do with where they were playing and the roles they were asked to do rather than because they weren’t playing well – Thomas Courts’s tactics also catching out Van Bronckhorst.
The squad has had more time training together and should be in good shape heading into a key run of fixtures, three points away from home at a difficult venue would be a great way to start the new year.