Six Rangers players who could feature with rare chance in Old Firm v Celtic
Six fringe players have been considered for selection for Rangers against Celtic on Saturday, in a feature by Football Scotland.
The final Old Firm clash of the season will see some players feature in the fixture for the last time, ahead of the much anticipated summer rebuild at Ibrox.
The weekend’s game is also an important one for Michael Beale as he aims for his first victory in the derby on the fifth attempt.
Robby McCrorie, Ridvan Yilmaz, John Souttar, Ianis Hagi, Rabbi Matondo, and Zak Lovelace were those whose chances were assessed in the report, in terms of this game as part of their overall claim for a future at the club.
“There will be a host of new signings coming in over pretty much all areas of the park and so those that are already there will want to earn the right to compete with those guys for a starting place,” it said.
“A forgotten man at one stage, Rabbi Matondo has been back in the picture as perhaps the biggest example of that.
“But there are plenty of others and what better fixture than the Old Firm derby this weekend to prove they have the minerals?”
Something to prove
There may be nothing to play for in a competitive sense, but there is no such thing as a meaningless Old Firm match, even more so in the context of this season.
In the five contests since August, Rangers have secured one draw with all of the others ending in defeat. That isn’t good enough and the stat needs to change on Saturday even though it will just be a footnote in the story of 2022/23.
There will be a few who go into the game with something to prove with Beale’s selection likely to be similar to the lineup that played against Aberdeen last week.
McCrorie must start, to continue his attempt to show his worth after a solid display last week. The jury is still out on Ridvan so this is a game that he must make an impact in. Souttar is also likely to start, in place of the injured Ben Davies but his place in the squad will be safe.
Elsewhere, Hagi could return to the bench as he probably isn’t up to the rigours of this fixture yet but may get a second-half appearance. Matondo should be given a shop window opportunity but he needs to be moved on, in the summer.
Zak Lovelace is a great prospect, but should not be rushed. He doesn’t need the pressure or backlash that will come if a result doesn’t follow this weekend having not been seen at senior level yet.
In other Rangers news, an out-of-court settlement has been predicted after the latest legal news developing at Ibrox in recent weeks