Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers will be looking to get their 20/21 Premiership campaign off to the right start when they travel to Pittodrie on Saturday afternoon to take on Aberdeen in the opening fixture of the season. Steven Gerrard’s side will be hoping to give reigning champions Celtic a proper run for their money in the title race this time around, having completed the permanent acquisition of dynamic attacker Ianis Hagi over the last many weeks as well.
The Gers are coming into this tie in a decent run of form, having won all four of their pre-season friendlies so far as well. Not only did this include wins against the likes of Lyon and Nice, but they also managed to play out the four fixtures while conceding only one goal in the process. The last league meeting between the two sides occurred in January of this year. Despite a fairly dominant display from Steven Gerrard’s men, neither team were able to break the deadlock on that occasion, and the scoreline remained 0-0.
Team News
Rangers’ pre-season fixtures have been a raging success, but facing off against Aberdeen in the league’s curtain-raiser is sure to have different stakes. The Ibrox club doesn’t have many injury concerns to deal with, and can hence be expected to be at full-strength when they travel to Pittodrie on the weekend. The only established injury that Gerrard currently has to deal with is the calf problem being faced by veteran English striker Jermain Defoe, whose return date hasn’t been specified just yet.
Here Is The Predicted 4-3-3 Rangers Lineup Vs Aberdeen:
Predicted 4-3-3 Rangers Lineup Vs Aberdeen
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
The presence of Allan McGregor in between the sticks could be described as one of the Gers’ saving graces from last season, as without his timely interventions, the situation could’ve rapidly turned very sour. Expect the veteran stopper to retain his place in the team going into the opening week of the new campaign. In front of him, Connor Goldson is set to keep his place in central-defence, with talented centre-half George Edmundson operating alongside him. Borna Barisic and skipper James Tavernier as set to start at Pittodrie on the weekend as well.
Midfield
Ryan Jack has been one of the most consistent players in the Gers squad over time, and the importance of his role to their defensive and attacking play simply cannot be underplayed. The Scot is responsible for linking up the Rangers lines with his passing and general positioning. Glen Kamara is expected to start alongside Jack in the heart of midfield, from where he would also have the freedom to pivot and charge towards goal. Joe Aribo is set to take up a slightly more advanced role than the other two midfielders, often seen making forward runs towards the left flank.
Attack
Alfredo Morelos didn’t have the most prolific of pre-seasons this time around by any stretch of the imagination, and that could spell bad news for Gerrard going into the season. Despite this, the injury to Jermain Defoe means that Morelos starting this fixture against Aberdeen is very likely. Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi are expected to begin on either side of the Colombian striker for this tie. As good as Kent has been during pre-season, it must be conceded that Hagi’s inclusion has come as a breath of fresh air for the Rangers front-line.
