Glasgow Rangers play a match at Ibrox for the first time in 16 days as they welcome Hibernian as the visitors in what is a mammoth Premiership clash.
A win for the Gers will see them leapfrog Celtic at the summit of the table, thus piling on the pressure on their Old Firm rivals, who don’t play until Sunday.
Since the 1-0 defeat to Benfica more than two weeks ago, Philippe Clement will have been aiming to get some of his injured players back to full health, yet some are still unavailable…
Rangers team news vs Hibs
Ahead of the league clash, Clement spoke to the media on Friday afternoon as he discussed the state of his squad ahead of the coming matches.
“Sterling, Dowell, Sima and McCausland are back in training,” said the Belgian manager.
Player
Position
Jack Butland
GK
James Tavernier
RB
Connor Goldson
CB
John Souttar
CB
Ridvan Yilmaz
LB
John Lundstram
CM
Mohamed Diomande
CM
Dujon Sterling
RW
Tom Lawrence
AM
Fabio Silva
LW
Cyriel Dessers
ST
“Ridvan, Jack, Cortes & Danilo are out. Ridvan is not long-term, but we will see next week.”
Some good news mixed with a few blows, but the positives look like they are far outweighing any negatives, especially as it shouldn’t be long before the injured players make a return.
Cause for concern could be on the left flank, however, as Sima and Cortes are both still missing. Fabio Silva has done well depositing there, but Clement may move him into a more advanced role in place of Cyriel Dessers against Hibs.
This could see Rabbi Matondo awarded a start in what could be an ideal opportunity for him to stake a claim in the starting XI.
Rabbi Matondo’s season in numbers for Rangers
The £23k-per-week winger looked as though he was ready to depart Ibrox last summer after a poor debut season, yet he impressed in pre-season ahead of the current campaign.
He finally scored his first goal for the Gers during the 2-2 draw against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League qualifiers, being hailed as a “bright spark” in the process by journalist Euan Robertson.
While a few injuries have disrupted his progress since then, the 23-year-old has added another three goals to his tally, along with grabbing four assists, showcasing his talents in spells.
Clement could throw him into the mix today and the Welshman could form a dangerous duo with Silva.
In the Premiership this season, Matondo has created four big chances, averaged 0.7 key passes per game and succeeded with 1.3 dribbles per game, clearly indicating that the youngster is able to power past opponents on a regular basis while creating chances for his teammates to convert.
With four goals in his first 14 appearances for the Light Blues, Silva, meanwhile, certainly appears to be enjoying himself in Glasgow while thriving under pressure.
Having Matondo on the left wing supplying him with chances galore could mean the Portuguese striker adds to his goal tally against the Easter Road side.
It will be the first time the duo link up from the first whistle should they be unleashed in the starting XI and Clement will be hoping the pair can cause the Hibs' defence plenty of problems.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.