Due to injuries and exclusions from the Euro pool, the Light Blues coach was forced to switch from a four at the back to a three for Sparta Prague. However, he has the chance to go back to his original formation this afternoon.
When Hearts visit, Philippe Clement might go back to his familiar Rangers shape.
The Scottish Premiership takes centre stage at Ibrox today, and the Light Blues have the opportunity to cut Celtic’s lead at the top to five points after Brendan Rodgers’ team was held to a 0-0 draw against Hibs in the capital on Saturday afternoon. This is the first of two meetings between the two in the span of a week. It could start what promises to be a huge week for the Govan team, which includes an away game against Dundee at Dens Park in the middle of the week and a rematch with the Jambos at Hampden the following weekend.
But this afternoon, Clement returns to familiar surroundings in a soggy Glasgow as he looks to make it back-to-back home league wins over Edinburgh opposition and lay down a marker to Steven Naismith and his troops ahead of the Viaplay Cup semi-final next week. Clement picked up what could prove to be a crucial Europa League point on the road at Sparta Prague.
Because of Borna Barisic’s injury, Rangers were forced to switch from their customary four-man backline to a three-man lineup. Due to his inability to train prior to the game on Thursday night, Dujon Sterling was also not included in the squad. Michael Beale removed Ridvan Yilmaz from the European squad, which meant that Ben Davies, rather than rookie Adam Devine, started the match instead of him. Yilmaz was called upon from the bench last week against the Hibees following Barisic’s early injury setback.
Yilmaz is available for today’s match, though, so Clement might go back to the four as he has to make some important choices after his troops put up a valiant defence in the Czech Republic a few days ago. After yet another valiant performance, No. 1 Jack Butland will undoubtedly maintain his position in goal for the Rangers.
James Tavernier, the captain, will likely continue to play in his right-side slot. Yilmaz will likely play on the left, and if Clement’s initial team selection is any indication, the always reliable Connor Goldson will be partnered with John Souttar at centre back.
As he continues his recuperation from injury, Todd Cantwell showed promise in his little over an hour of play during the week. With Nicolas Raskin and John Lundstram occupying the deeper midfield positions, he is probably going to start again.
Abdallah Sima’s play has improved significantly in recent weeks. Last weekend, he demonstrated a new side to his game by assuming the role of left wing back and putting in a strong defensive shift against Hibs. This afternoon, he will be able to return to his more left-attacking role with greater freedom. Scott Wright, who started Clement’s first Ibrox game, was used from the bench during the week and could be taken into consideration for the wide area
