With regards to Alfredo Morelos, Steven Gerrard must know that a suspension is always round the corner and the Colombian striker is set to miss three games after receiving a red card against Aberdeen. Gerrard though would be glad that he has a top class option available as a replacement in the form of Jermain Defoe but the manager also indicated that he can go on to use Kyle Lafferty as well.
Gerrard was quoted as saying (Belfast Telegraph), ”They are two different types of players(Morelos and Defoe). They are obviously both very strong in front of goal, but they are very different, so we have to adapt to whoever it is that’s leading the line. We also have Kyle (Lafferty) in the running as well. We might decide to go down a different way.”
We believe starting Defoe and Lafferty together might be a good bet for Rangers especially against teams who are going to set up shop and defend in numbers. It unusual to see the formula of two strikers being used in today’s day and age as managers often prefer to have an extra man in midfield to be more organised and compact.
However, Lafferty can be a good target man up front due to his aerial prowess, and Defoe can play around him and make incisive runs behind the opposition defence. It would also bring Lafferty’s aerial threat into the game. The Gers often build up their attack from the wide areas as the likes of Daniel Candeias and James Tavernier are good crossers of the ball.
Gerrard can either opt for a traditional 4-4-2 system or a 3-5-2 to accommodate Defoe and Lafferty together. The Northern Irish forward has started just eight games for Rangers this season, but he has looked sharp whenever he has been on the pitch. The forward has had a knack of scoring important goals throughout his career, and his finishing is decent from close quarters. Therefore Gerrard should make use of his both of his strike options.
Gerrard will know a thing or two about using two forwards as he was part of the Liverpool team who played with Emile Heskey and Michael Owen up front. Later on, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge almost fired the Reds to the Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers.
The signing of Defoe in January might have pushed the 31-year-old forward further down the pecking order, but we believe Lafferty still has a decent role to play this season and that is what Gerrard indicated as the striker might get his chance to impress when Morelos is out with a suspension.
