Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be hoping to register his first win in the group stages of the Champions League with Glasgow Rangers tonight.
His Gers side are pointless after the first three games in the competition and now face Liverpool at Ibrox as they attempt to keep their hopes of remaining in Europe alive heading into the last two matches.
Rangers have not scored a single goal in the group stages, after losing to the Reds, Napoli and Ajax, and will need to use some of the confidence gained from their last outing to spring a surprise against Jurgen Klopp’s team.
The Light Blues won 4-0 against St. Mirren in the Premiership in their last competitive match, with Antonio Colak, James Tavernier and Fashion Sakala getting on the scoresheet.
How many changes will the Dutchman make to the side from that game? Here is Football FanCast’s predicted XI…
We are predicting that the head coach will make three changes to the team with Leon King, Steven Davis and Ryan Kent all returning to the side.
The manager was asked about King’s potential inclusion against Liverpool and stated: “You will see him tomorrow. He played some games last year but we wanted to make space for him to get more minutes and when he is taking the minutes he is performing really well.”
This suggests that the Scotland youth international, who Alan Hutton once dubbed a “Rolls-Royce”, will have a part to play after being on the bench against St. Mirren and we are predicting that he will be recalled to form a back five, starting at centre-back alongside Connor Goldson and Ben Davies, with Scott Arfield dropping out.
In midfield, Davis may come into the side for Ryan Jack to provide more experience in the middle of the park. The 37-year-old has been around the block, with 75 appearances in Europe, and has started two of the three group stage games so far, which is why van Bronckhorst may lean on him in this match as he has the know-how of how to perform at this level.
Out wide, we are predicting that Ryan Kent will return in place of Rabbi Matondo. FFC has stated why he could be a key inclusion for this game, whilst Fashion Sakala may keep his position in the side out on the right, to offer a direct threat with his pace on the counter.
Finally, Antonio Colak could start after being dropped for Alfredo Morelos at Anfield. The Colombian struggled in the 2-0 defeat, losing ten of his 11 individual duels, and the Croatia international – who scored twice at the weekend – could lead the line for the Gers.
