Rangers had a blistering start their season under Steven Gerrard, grabbing a place in the prestigious Europa League group stage a fortnight ago. However, they finally surrendered their unbeaten streak in the League to rivals Celtic in the season’s first Old Firm derby.
The side need to step it up again when they host bottom-placed Dundee FC. The visitors have lost all four of their league outings this term and the Gers, a much-changed outfit, shouldn’t leave any room for complacency.
Rangers Team News
The devastating knee injury against Kilmarnock will keep Jamie Murphy out for the entire season. Graham Dorrans’ nightmare continues as he remains sidelined with a long-standing knee strain.
Lassana Coulibaly is taking longer than the estimated period to recover from a hamstring injury and still a doubt for the weekend’s encounter. Youngster Jordan Rossiter and new recruit Eros Grezda have returned to training, recovering from ankle injuries, but are unlikely to be rushed for the upcoming tie.
Predicted Rangers Lineup (4-1-3-2)
Defence
Allan McGregor was instrumental in Scotland’s 2-0 victory over Albania during the two sides’ UEFA Nations League fixture and has been majestic between the sticks so far for the Gers. He will retain his place between the sticks.
Skipper James Tavernier has been erroneous defensively but has offered great composure going forward. He is expected to test the opponents from the right.
Borna Barisic, the Croatian international, should be preferred over Jon Flanagan on the left. Although veteran Gareth McAuley and youngster Joe Worrall have been roped in to increase the depth in central defence, the gaffer is unlikely to alter the preferred centre-half pairing of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic.
Midfield
Gerrard is finding it difficult in deploying both Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos upfront and should go for a 4-1-3-2 setup, using Ryan Jack in the defensive midfield role to screen the back four and drag the ball out from the deep.
Ovie Ejaria lost his concentration while tracking Tom Rogic in the Old Firm derby and paid the price when Olivier Ntcham scored the solitary goal of the game. But the young Liverpool loanee has been a standout in recent fixtures and should start the game in his preferred box-to-box role.
Scott Arfield, meanwhile, has been handed a free role in the middle of the park but should be deployed in a left midfield role like during his Burnley days.
Daniel Candeias, the hard-working Portuguese wide midfielder, should be handed a start on the other flank to help Tavernier defensively and also link-up with his skipper using the width of the pitch.
Ryan Kent is another exciting option capable to feature on either of the wings but is expected to be introduced later on if the situation demands it.
Attack
Kyle Lafferty scored a brace against Motherwell on his return to his former club and should be lining up alongside Alfredo Morelos who recently made the senior international debut for Colombia.
The Colombian, however, should manage his temperament better in order to be back on the scoresheet.
