Gabby Agbonlahor: ‘Only place’ Rangers in trouble v Braga is Kemar Roofe in for Alfredo Morelos
The “only place” Rangers have cause for concern against Braga tonight (7 April) is up front, with the club missing Alfredo Morelos.
The former Aston Villa striker believes Gers looked “shy” in attack in the defeat to Celtic at the weekend because they were not playing to Kemar Roofe’s strengths in the Colombian’s absence.
El Bufalo has been ruled out for the rest of the reason after undergoing surgery on the thigh injury he picked up on international duty, and are likely to have Jamaican Roofe in his place again for the Europa League quarter-final in Portugal.
Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT, via the Daily Record: “They’ll miss Morelos up front as they looked a bit shy up front against Celtic.
“It was more the service (than Roofe himself), they weren’t really playing to his strengths, a lot of balls around his neck.
“Maybe Morelos, being a bigger striker, would have been able to hold up.
“That’s the only place that’s going to let Rangers down.
“But the’ve got the team spirit, the atmosphere, hopefully they get a decent result tonight and get them back to Ibrox and anything can happen.”
All change
If Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants to have any hope of rescuing the season he is going to have to find a way to replace Morelos’ output immediately.
He deserves praise for bringing the best out of the injured striker, but if the entire game plan rested on the 25-year-old’s qualities then the season is effectively over without him.
The past two Old Firm derbies have proven that Gers are not a match for their Glasgow rivals without him.
That is likely to put the Scottish Cup out of reach with the next meeting between the two in the semi-final in 10 days.
And although Braga are seen as one of the weaker sides left in the competition, if the rest of the players are able to raise their game to get past Carlos Carvalhal’s side, it is hard to see them troubling the likes of Barcelona.
There is enough in this Light Blues squad to cause anyone problems, but only if they are all performing.
Morelos was enough of a talent to force situations that could otherwise not be worked, so the general play has to pick up the slack in order to create chances for the likes of Roofe to finish.
In other Rangers news, Gers has a “crippling dependency” on one player who may have played their last game the club.