Jose Cifuentes to start – Confirmed Rangers team news v Livingston
Michael Beale has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Jose Cifuentes will start for Rangers against Livingston, making his debut at Ibrox.
The Ecuador international joined from LA FC before the season started but was only on the bench for the defeat against Kilmarnock, before coming on as a substitute for the midweek win over Servette.
And the boss has now confirmed that he will make his first start at Ibrox on Saturday (12 August) against Livingston, although he was quiet about the rest of the team news ahead of the game.
Needed
It’s been a very busy summer window at Ibrox and with new faces comes a bit of a bedding in period, but Cifuentes looked ready to go in midweek.
He came on and immediately won duels, took us up the pitch with his powerful running and looked assured on the ball in a positive showing.
He won’t get fully up to speed or develop a relationship with the squad sitting on the bench, so a home game against one of the weaker teams in the division seems like the perfect time to give him his first start.
The lack of team news elsewhere likely means that little has changed, so the chances of seeing Ridvan Yilmaz return are slim while Ben Davies is also likely to continue to sit out the game.
We need a win and ideally a statement win to show that last week was just a blip, and Beale has a chance to get the squad brimming with confidence ahead of a tough Champions League game in midweek.
In other Rangers news, another debut to be handed out as senior ace aced in predicted XI v Livingston.