Despite a stunning resurgence under Philippe Clement, Rangers finished the year with a disappointing Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park. They are now eight points behind their bitter rivals with two games in hand and the Belgian chief must demand a reaction from his men against in-form Kilmarnock on Tuesday afternoon.
Killie claimed a 1-0 win when they hosted the Gers at Rugby Park in the opening gameweek of the 2023-24 season. Celtic have also been defeated twice by the East Ayrshire side so far this term and Rangers, therefore, should step up the show to avoid another setback in the Premiership hunt.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Rangers Lineup To Face Kilmarnock
Defence
Jack Butland joined Rangers on a Bosman back in the summer window. He has since restored the stability between the sticks and is now the Light Blues ‘number 1′ across competitions ahead of Robby McCrorie and Jon McLaughlin.
Clement will miss the services of Leon Balogun who received a marching order against Celtic. John Souttar is expected to partner with Connor Goldson in the heart of the backline. Ridvan Yilmaz should feature from the left unless Borna Barisic is declared fit having missed the last couple of weeks’ action due to fitness reasons. However, the Gers would once again rely on skipper James Tavernier for his contribution in the defensive third, attacking expertise and leadership traits.
Midfield
Although Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence and Nicolas Raskin are still sidelined with their respective injury problems, the transition of Dujon Sterling from fullback to a makeshift ‘number six’ has added a much-needed depth deep down the midfield. Kieran Dowell is back in contention after an array of impressive performances, also, Jose Cifuentes and John Lundstram remain available for selection even though the latter has been deployed extensively week in, and week out. The veteran Englishman and the Ecuadorian ace should get the nod to form a ‘double pivot’ against Derek McInnes’ juggernaut.
Todd Cantwell is yet to live up to expectations after another underwhelming display as a ‘number 10’. The gaffer must opt for Sam Lammers who has featured flexibly in and around the attacking third, but the wide midfield roles should not be altered given the flair and finesse of Abdallah Sima and Ross McCausland. The likes of Scott Wright and Rabbi Matondo could be involved from the bench as second-half substitutes.
Attack
Rangers are decimated high up the pitch amid injuries to Danilo and Kemar Roofe. They have loaned in Fabio Silva from Wolves for the remainder of the season and the young Portuguese centre-forward must be handed a first-team status over Cyriel Dessers who lacked the pace and rhythm against the Glasgow rivals. Having said that, the Nigerian ‘number 9’ is tipped to start in case Silva’s international clearance and work permit are not processed quickly enough for him to make his debut on 2nd January.
