Top of the table Rangers have the chance to establish a four-point lead over rivals Celtic at the top of the table as they travel to Rugby Park on Friday evening to play Kilmarnock. Rangers are unbeaten in all competitions this season and have collected seven points from three Premiership fixtures. The Gers started with a 1-1 draw against Hamilton Academical but defeated both Dundee and Motherwell by 2-1 margins.
Kilmarnock are struggling at the third bottom with just three points from three games. Lee Clark’s boys lost to Motherwell and Ross Country but had the better of Hamilton Academical. As many as 15 signings were made by Clark at Rugby Park this summer and the team will need time to gel in. Rangers must not get complacent while approaching the game and keep their focus intact.
Here is the predicted Rangers lineup against Kilmarnock.
Defence
Wes Foderingham will start between the sticks ahead of new signing Matt Gilks. Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson are likely to start at the heart of the defence keeping veteran Clint Hill on the bench. Rangers are blessed with the two best attacking full-backs in the division in James Tavernier and Lee Wallace and the duo will keep their place in the full-back positions.
Midfield
We have seen Mark Warburton rotating Nicolas Kranjcar, Andy Halliday, Jordan Rossiter and Joey Barton in the central midfield trio. The manager opting to keep Kranjcar on the bench almost proved to be costly last week as Rangers had to wait until the additional time to score the winner. The Croat holds the key in Rangers’ creative department and it’s as clear as daylight that Kranjcar must be an assured starter. So, we can expect two among Halliday, Barton and Rossiter to start and we expect it will be Rossiter who has to make the sacrifice. Halliday is likely to start as the defensive midfielder while Barton and Kranjcar will start as the two box to box midfielders.
Attack
Harry Forrester is likely to start on the right flank while youngster Barrie McKay will get the nod ahead of Joe Dodoo on the left. With Martyn Waghorn still sidelined with an injury, veteran Kenny Miller will once again lead the line. New signing Joe Garner is likely to make the bench and could be called into action later in the game.
