Todd Cantwell decision made by Michael Beale – Rangers predicted XI vs St Johnstone
Michael Beale could well make just the one change to the side that started the 1-0 Scottish Cup win over St Johnstone as the two sides go head-to-head in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday [28 January].
The League Cup holders triumphed at McDiarmid Park 1-0 thanks to a fantastic strike by left-back Borna Barisic who grabbed his first goal in nearly two years.
St Johnstone certainly made a game of it despite only having 400 fans turn up because of protests but Barisic pounced to superbly thump home after a Fashion Sakala effort came off a post just before the break.
It means the Gers have now gone 11 consecutive games without defeat, winning five in a row away from home and they’ll be looking to close the gap between them and their Old Firm rivals Celtic to six points, with the Hoops kicking off on Sunday [29 January].
With Beale looking to continue the momentum heading into Saturday’s game, it’s unlikely to see him ring the changes for this fixture, and he’d be expected to more or less keep the same side which only just triumphed over their opponent thanks to Barisic’s worldie.
McGregor could continue in goal for this game after Jon McLaughlin made some costly errors in Rangers’ last league outing against ten-men Kilmarnock – a game in which they were fortunate to win 3-2.
The back four could also remain the same, with James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Ben Davies and Barisic forming a trusted and reliable defensive setup for Beale and barring any injuries before Saturday’s crucial encounter, those four should start in defence.
The only one real change Beale could make is bringing back Glen Kamara into the midfield fold at the expensive of Jack after Kamara was dropped for the Scottish Cup win over Saturday’s opponents.
However, the Finnish international may start this one, and will be hoping to make an impression on Beale to cement his position as Rangers’ trusted partner to John Lundstram.
The good news for the hosts is that key attacker Antonio Colak has overcome his injury. But, all of Kemar Roofe, Steven Davis, Ridvan Yilmaz, John Souttar, Tom Lawrence, Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander, and Nnamdi Ofoborh remain on the sidelines for Beale.
However, Alfredo Morelos, who has struggled to recapture last season’s form for much of this campaign should continue up front for the hosts, with Ryan Kent, Malik Tllman and Fashion Sakala all filling in behind him in the attacking positions for the Gers.
New signing Todd Cantwell is expected to start on the bench following his confirmed [Sky Sports] move to the club [24 January].
With the Gers looking to continue their stunning revival under Beale, and cut the gap to Celtic at the top of the table, they can ill-afford to drop any points in the run-in, and barring any dramatic fall, the Light Blues are expected to triumph over St Johnstone once again this Saturday. However, it’s a game that can’t take for granted.
In other Rangers news, the Gers want to offer a four-and-a-half-year contract to seal the signing of this European ace.