Brian Laudrup expects Micheal Beale to pick Fashion Sakala over Kemar Roofe in Rangers v Celtic
Brian Laudrup expects Michael Beale to pick Rangers forward Fashion Sakala over Kemar Roofe in the Viaplay Cup final against Celtic on Sunday (26 February).
Writing for the Scottish Daily Mail (21 February, page 70), Laudrup says that while Roofe can be a potential Hampden Park matchwinner, Beale must pick Sakala as he has got more up the sleeve.
Laudrup suggests that along with Ryan Kent, the 25-year-old forward can play a “critical” role for the Bears in the final. Sakala was brilliant against Celtic last month, and he has been in good form under Beale.
“It’s why I’d expect Fashion Sakala to continue ahead of Kemar Roofe, despite the latter looking sharp and scoring when coming off the bench at Livingston. Roofe is a potential Hampden matchwinner, but I think more as an ace up the sleeve for Beale,” wrote Laudrup.
“If Sakala shows up well in training, he has the raw speed Rangers require. We saw what he did against Celtic last month, setting up a goal and winning a penalty. They didn’t know how to handle him for a spell in the game. On the other side, Ryan Kent has pace, trickery and finishing ability. I suspect those two could be critical to Rangers’ hopes of winning the trophy.”
Team selection
This is a massive game for Rangers and Beale in particular. He took the job at Ibrox when Rangers were in a free-fall state under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The confidence among the players shattered, and the poor being played was dire and unimaginative. Beale has gradually instilled belief in the side, and the results are evident.
Under him, Rangers are undefeated so far, and the confidence is overflowing at the moment. However, Celtic are looking invincible at the moment, and it will require a herculean effort to beat them on Sunday.
It will interesting to see how Beale shapes his team for this game as the Bears could miss some of their players through injuries.
Malik Tillman, who has been sensational thus far, is one of the players who could miss out. Roofe has got plenty of experience but he hasn’t played much this season.
It will be very risky to use him in such a high-pressure game, and Sakala looks like a better option instead.
In other Rangers news, the club are in line for a multi-million windfall from the Premier League after a £10m Auchenhowie milestone was reached.