As preparations continue to ramp up for the season ahead Rangers return to Ibrox to face long term friends, in the form of German opposition, Hamburger SV. Following on from a 2-1 loss to Newcastle we welcome the Germans to our home in what should be an interesting game. The relationship between the two clubs stretches back as far as the 70s and has grown with time, culminating in an official partnership being announced on 10th February 2021.
So what should we be looking out for in this one?
Pre-season is about getting players competitive minutes, building fitness, refining tactics and understanding your best players and formations. It is likely to be iterative from the Newcastle game, rather than a transformation but in media interviews Beale has indicated some areas to watch. Three names who didn’t feature against Newcastle are slated to get minutes in this one. Specifically Beale confirmed Dessers, Roofe and Lawrence should all be ready for some minutes in this game, however we will have to wait and see who starts and who comes on.
When it comes to the starting line up we will obviously see a change at keeper with Butland favorite to start. Over the back four I expect to see a familiar feel and, unless Sterling is available, the only real question here is Borna or Yilmaz?
Ridvan Yilmaz in action last season
Midfield I suspect will change and I doubt Ryan Jack or Lundstram start this one, especially following the managers comments about needing another body in midfield. I would actually be interested to see Raskin and Dowell start this one as both exhibited real tenacity on Tuesday. Further forward Cantwell is likely to be the third although Beale could throw in a curve ball and start Lawrence. It’s a tough decision as Lawrence definitely needs the minutes but we also need our strongest team to gel together. An alternative would be to play Raskin, with Lawrence and Cantwell further ahead. Whilst there is a part of me that would love to see this, it would be a very attacking setup, perhaps more suited to the domestic games than European ones.
Up top I can’t see Roofe starting as he makes his way back from his operation. I would expect Sima, Lammers and Dessers to start, with Roofe being bought on either at half time or 60mins, depending on his current fitness levels.
Lammers and SIma worked together vs Newcastle
Lammers and SIma both showed some flashes of what we can expect and obviously Lammers scored our goal but throughout the game I couldn’t help but feel we were missing a clinical striker. Hopefully throwing Dessers into the mix will solve this, his stats certainly suggest he can be our goal scoring threat.
Dessers was in the top 10% percentile for xG, despite playing for a poor Cremonese team.
When it comes to the game itself I wouldn’t expect miracles. We are still building things up as we progress through pre-season, however there is still a way to go before the season kicks off in earnest. At this stage I hope to see more of the pressing we showed in spells, a better start to the game and perhaps most importantly I would like to see some guile and creativity as we face an opponent closer to our level than a top four EPL team.
If we get those traits, a debut for Dessers, minutes in the legs of folks coming back from injury and some more game time for some of the youths then I will call it a success. It would also be nice to grab a win as it’s a good habit to get into but at this stage it’s not the main focus, so long as we are ready when the action starts for real!
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