Rangers had a tough start to life in the Scottish Premiership as they had to settle for just a 1-1 draw against Hamilton Academical in their first Premiership match of the season. Martyn Waghorn’s equaliser gave the Gers a crucial point from the game. It wasn’t the start Warburton would have planned for but there is no use of crying over spilt milk now. Rangers need to bounce back and they have a perfect game to do so as the Gers host minnows Peterhead FC in the Scottish League Cup on Tuesday.
Peterhead caused a few upsets of their own to come this far in the League Cup. A 2-1 win over giants Dundee and a bonus point away from Dumbarton saw them top their group. However, their league campaign started with a 4-0 hammering at Alloa on Saturday. Jim McInally’s side will be keen to create another major upset to keep up their Cup run and Rangers cannot afford to take them lightly.
We can expect plenty of rotations from Warburton against Peterhead. The Gers have a tough away game against Dundee on Saturday in the Premiership and a few key players could be rested keeping that in mind.
Here is the predicted Rangers lineup against Peterhead.
Defence
We can expect to see Matt Gilks replacing Wes Foderingham between the sticks in this game. Rangers do not have too many options at the back so that Warburton can rotate all his defenders. Central defender Danny Wilson is available again after missing the 1-1 draw with Hamilton through suspension and he is likely to start the game alongside veteran Clint Hill. Youngster Ryan Sinnamon could be in line for a start in the right-back position while Lee Hodson could start on the opposite flank as Warburton will want to keep both Tavernier and Wallace fresh for the weekend.
Midfield
Midfielder Matt Crooks remains out following an ankle surgery while Josh Windass is out with a hamstring layoff. However, Rangers still have enough depth in midfield so that Warburton could rotate the midfield trio of Halliday, Barton and Kranjcar who featured against Hamilton on Saturday. Jordan Rossiter is likely to start in the middle of the park as well as Jason Holt and James Forrester.
Attack
Michael O’Halloran is likely to start on the right flank while summer signing from Leicester City, Dodoo, is likely to start on the left flank. With Martyn Waghorn out with a hamstring problem, veteran striker Kenny Miller will spearhead Rangers’ attack.
