Alfredo Morelos to be axed in five changes by under-pressure Giovanni van Bronckhorst – Rangers predicted XI v Aberdeen
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is predicted to make five changes to his starting line-up for Rangers’ Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday.
Borna Barisic, Steven Davis, Scott Arfield, Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak are all expected to return to the side after they were forced to make do with a spot on the bench on Wednesday for the 3-0 defeat away at Napoli.
It means that van Bronckhorst could decide to axe Alfredo Morelos after his woeful performance at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Morelos missed two huge chances to get on the scoresheet, showing that he’s nowhere near to matching Colak’s form up front.
Van Bronckhorst is predicted to also leave Ridvan Yilmaz, Leon King, John Lundstram and Scott Wright out of the starting line-up.
King, 18, went off with an injury in the second half of the loss to Napoli [Daily Record].
Van Bronckhorst is under huge pressure at Ibrox and while a 3-0 away defeat to Napoli in the Champions League is unlikely to sway the board into a decision to sack the Dutchman, a failure to beat Aberdeen at home might.
It’s why van Bronckhorst could opt for an experienced line-up against Aberdeen, mixed with players who he knows can show an ability to produce something spectacular.
Allan McGregor is expected to start in goals behind a back-four of James Tavernier, James Sands, Ben Davies and Barisic.
Davis and Arfield are predicted to start in the two central midfield roles.
Ahead of them, Sakala could start on the right-wing after a bright cameo off the bench in Naples with Ryan Kent on the left-wing and Malik Tillman through the middle.
Colak has scored 10 goals in 11 Scottish Premiership appearances this season and is bound to spearhead the attack for van Bronckhorst against the Dons.
In other Rangers news, a BT Sport pundit was wowed by one “wonderful” Gers player despite the defeat to Napoli.