Rangers avoided a defeat against Brondby on Thursday night to keep their Europa League knockout hopes alive. They have not been the same side who ran riot at home as well as Europe last season and the outing against the Danish side must be viewed as one final wake up call ahead of hosting Ross County on Sunday afternoon.
Although the Gers are favourites to clinch all three points against the bottom-placed Staggies, their inconsistency and wastefulness might haunt them once again unless they manage to break the deadlock and score a few early into the game. A 6-1 win against Motherwell cemented their place at the top of the Premiership standings and Steven Gerrard’s men can’t afford to drop unnecessary points considering Celtic’s exquisite run of form in recent weeks.
Predicted 4-3-3 Rangers Lineup To Face Ross County
Defence
It’s difficult to predict who would feature between the sticks due to extensive rotation between Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin. The latter featured in their last Ibrox outing against Aberdeen and might get the nod once more in front of the home crowd for the Ross County outing.
Skipper James Tavernier should be rested this weekend. Nathan Patterson is raring to go after impressing in limited minutes, whereas left fullback Calvin Bassey might return to the starting XI in place of Borna Barisic. There is little scope of experiment in deep defence due to the injury absence of Filip Helander and the experienced pairing of Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun must aim for a clean sheet, something that has been rare so far this term.
Midfield
Although the manager has opted for a 4-4-2 at times, a ‘midfield three’ of Steven Davis, Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara offers more stability than any other set-up. Davis has been excellent as a deep-lying playmaker in the absence of Ryan Jack, also the intelligence and composure of Glen Kamara allow the Gers to dominate space and possession. Aribo has been urged to become the ‘rule breaker‘ as he has been handed a free role in the middle of the park.
Attack
Gerrard made the correct call by taking off both Fashion Sakala and Alfredo Morelos against Brondby. Morelos might still spearhead the attack for his scoring traits, however, Ianis Hagi must return to the first eleven for his directness. He should occupy the right-wing role but might switch as a ‘number 10’ if the formation is tweaked at some stage of the contest. Fit-again Ryan Kent could feature from the left flank and the manager must be ecstatic about it. Kemar Roofe and Sakala might get deployed as ‘super subs’ if required.
