Rangers will travel to the Bayview Stadium to take on East Fife in the Betfred Cup tie. The Gers are coming into this contest on the back of an impressive win against Midtjylland where they secured a 7-3 aggregate win. There is no doubt about who will go in as favourites for this encounter.
Gerrard in his first season in charge failed to reach any of the finals of the two domestic cup competitions, and that is something he would like to change this season. They have made a strong start to their campaign so far, and nobody would assume that their juggernaut would be stopped by a League One outfit. East Fife have drawn both their opening games of the season so far.
Team news: We can expect to see a drastically changed side from Gerrard as they will be facing a tough midweek clash against Legia Warsaw and the manager would like to protect most of his key players. Injury wise, Gerrard doesn’t have too many concerns as new signing Filip Helander featured on the bench in the last game. Jamie Murphy, Jake Hastie and Eros Grezda are unlikely to take part.
Rangers Predicted Lineup Vs East Fife
Formation (4-3-3)
Defence
Wes Foderingham will get his chance in goal. Big summer signing Filip Helander should get a start in defence. He should be partnered by George Edmundson who has failed to get game time after impressing in a clash against Progres Niederkorn.
Matt Polster could start ahead of James Tavernier at right-back. Borna Barisic has been unimpressive so far, but this could be the game where he could show Gerrard his worth. The Croatian might get the nod to start at left-back.
Midfield
Steven Davis played the full 90 minutes last time around so he might be rested. Andy Halliday might play in a deeper role at the centre of the park in this tie. Greg Docherty is likely to start in midfield after making cameos in the last few games. The other midfield spot could go to Joe Aribo who wasn’t involved in the tie against Midtjylland.
Attack
Versatile attacker Greg Stewart might start on the right flank. He could be used in a similar role to Scott Arfield who often drifts inside instead of playing as an outright winger. Brandon Barker could get a debut, and he might start in his preferred left-wing spot. Jermain Defoe is likeliest to lead the line in this tie. Young Zak Rudden could also be in contention, but we are going to go with Defoe up front.
