Glasgow Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action away to Dundee United later today, with the Ibrox giants looking to continue their unbeaten start to life under new boss Michael Beale with another positive result.
After four successive victories following the World Cup break, the Light Blues saw that winning run come to an end at home to their bitter rivals on Monday, with that Old Firm showdown seeing the Hoops snatch a point late on.
Despite slipping up in the closing stages, the Gers will no doubt take encouragement from their resilient comeback after having conceded in the opening few minutes, with that performance showcasing that they truly can go toe-to-toe with the Scottish champions.
As Rangers look to reduce the gap at the summit back down to nine points this afternoon, here’s how Football FanCast predicts that Beale’s men will line up:
(4-2-3-1) (GK) McGregor; (RB) Tavernier, (CB) Goldson, (CB) Davies), (LB) Barisic; (CDM) Lundstram, (CDM) Jack; (RM) Sakala, (CAM) Tillman, (LM) Kent; (ST) Colak.
The former Queen’s Park Rangers boss still has a number of injury woes to contend with involving the likes of Filip Helander, Ridvan Yilmaz and Tom Lawrence, although the Englishman can be encouraged by the fact that Ianis Hagi and John Souttar appear to be edging closer to a long-awaited return to action.
With squad depth still somewhat tested, we predict that Beale will likely name a similar side to the one that was held by Ange Postecoglou’s men last time out, with there potentially just two alterations to be made for today’s meeting with the Tangerines.
While there are not expected to be any tactical tweaks in the defensive unit, one change could well be made in the centre of the park, with Ryan Jack – who featured off the bench against the Bhoys – set to replace Glen Kamara in midfield.
The latter man – who was previously described as a “class act” by Steven Gerrard – endured ‘not his best afternoon’ against the league leaders, according to Glasgow Live’s Alan Galindo, with the £21k-per-week machine losing possession on ten occasions in that clash.
The more advanced midfield berths will likely be taken up by Ryan Kent, Malik Tillman and Fashion Sakala once again, with the Zambian speedster having been electric against the Parkhead outfit, notably winning a penalty just after the break.
The only further alteration could lie in attack, with Alfredo Morelos – who missed two big chances last time out – set to make way for Antonio Colak, with the Croatia international having been in “standout” form earlier this term, as per pundit Alex Rae, with 11 goals in just 14 league games.