Same again for Michael Beale – Rangers confirmed starting XI v Aberdeen
Michael Beale has named an unchanged team to face Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the Scottish Premiership clash on Sunday afternoon [23 April], as confirmed by the club’s official Twitter account.
He keeps his faith in the side that started the 5-2 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox last week, in what is the last fixture ahead of the top-six split.
Aberdeen go into this meeting on a run of six consecutive wins in resurgent form under Barry Robson which has taken them to third place in the table.
In the home win last weekend, Rangers were very nearly made to pay for costly defensive errors.
The manager slammed the sloppy play at the back as St Mirren were able to equalise twice before a late flurry put some gloss on the scoreline.
That can’t happen again today, but one thing Beale will want to see repeated is the impact of the subs.
Scott Arfield and Rabbi Matondo in particular played their part to secure the win over the Paisley side.
On the bench is 17-year-old striker Zak Lovelace, who’s only ever played once for the Gers’ senior side.
Ready for more?
The Gers have produced a largely impressive string of results under the current manager, with the dropped points to Celtic representing the only disappointment in the league since the World Cup break.
In itself, this clash in the north-east won’t mean much for the current campaign but it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to an in-form, fired-up Aberdeen, just one week ahead of the pivotal Scottish Cup semi final meeting with Celtic.
The expectation and pressure for that one will be huge but as this game directly leads to it, a performance is essential.
Last time out at Pittodrie, it was a late, late show as Arfield’s double secured a very memorable yet unlikely comeback victory. Rangers will need to be much better through the duration of today’s match if it is to have a successful outcome.
As stated above, the collective defensive unit will need to be much better whilst Todd Cantwell, Nico Raskin, Malik Tillman and Alfredo Morelos can be the key figures to bring three points back to Glasgow.
In other Rangers news, the club has been tipped by pundit to sign England international with 45 Premier League appearances.