Saturday April 8th beckons with what will be the 4th of six Old Firm encounters in the 2022-23 season. The last of the derby games before the seasonal fixture split, this edition promises to set the stage for last months of the season.
With no away fans set to be allowed at the match, it promises to be a daunting atmosphere
After an international break that felt longer than it was, both teams enter the fixture on the back of 2-0 domestic victories. Rangers beating Dundee Utd at Ibrox whilst our opponents bested Ross County away in Dingwall.
Rangers’ victory was as comfortable as we are likely to see this season, although our 77% possession wasn’t converted into a glut of goals. The Terrors offered sparingly little, whilst the fluency of some of Rangers’ forward play will offer much promise.
In the aftermath of the game, Michael Beale stated that he was pleased with the performance, saying “We were in good positions, but it was comfortable and it was really dominant with over 70 per cent possession.”
A player he singled out for praise was Malik Tillman. The USA international spent the game almost in the role of a Shadow Striker in the vein of his Bayern counterpart Thomas Müller. Where in the past he’d been played on the right-hand side of the midfield, in needing to break down Dundee Utd’s low block his forward progression in possession was vital.
Beale said of his performance “I thought him playing closer to [Morelos] gave us a different presence up there in terms of being able to hold the ball and maybe get [Cantwell] and [Jack] in the game higher up the pitch”. Whilst it remains to be seen whether we’ll see Tillman at the weekend, it bodes well for the levels of attacking fluency in the squad.
Whilst our opponents have no major injury doubts, one player in blue who looks set to miss out is Nico Raskin. The Belgium u21 midfielder has been dealing with a knock in recent weeks and looks unlikely to make his first Old Firm start. Raskin has been a dominant presence in the midfield when he has played, offering not only industry but a confident ball carrying and passing presence when looking to break the lines.
It means then that further onus will be on preferred midfield duo of Ryan Jack and Todd Cantwell. The latter has shown his hard-working spirit in the centre of midfield in recent weeks. What helps is that both will be relatively fresh. Cantwell did not have to play during the international break whilst Jack only played little over an hour and came away without injury. The Scotsman has already played more minutes in this campaign than the two previous and has been an important presence when starting.
In February’s League Cup final, Jack, Cantwell and Raskin unanimously changed the game in Rangers’ favour when they came on. Expect at least two of them to start.
Elsewhere the lineup threatens to be much the same as we have seen. The back four and ‘keeper positions are fairly set in stone. Although Ridvan Yilmaz has finally made his return from injury, it’s unlikely he will be trusted over the experienced Borna Barasic for this game.
In the attacking third, Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala have both earned Michael Beale’s trust in recent Old Firm games, expect them to start either side of one of Morelos or Colak. Whilst neither of our fit strikers have been exhibiting the greatest form at the moment, Morelos’ ability in possession, coupled with his start against Dundee Utd, lends itself to the idea that he will be starting.
Our opponents’ win against Ross County was a tougher ask than the scoreline indicated, suggesting that they are there to be got. AS with previous editions, the midfield battle will be the most vital flashpoint. Raskin’s likely omission will be a huge blow to our chances but the work-rate Todd Cantwell has displayed and the consistency of Ryan Jack’s recent performances give cause for hope. IF we can work the ball through the interior channels via those two and have the game bypass their central unit we will be able to put their defenders under a lot of pressure that they wont be used to.
Comments