Jack Butland axed as Fabio Silva decision made – Confirmed Rangers XI v Dumbarton
Philippe Clement has made 3 changes to his Rangers starting lineup for their Scottish Cup clash with Dumbarton on Saturday evening.
Jack Butland, Kieran Dowell and Abdallah Sima are all out of the team and are replaced by Robby McCrorie, Nicolas Raskin and Rabbi Matondo.
Clement’s only signing of the window so far Fabio Silva starts on the bench with Cyriel Dessers named in the lineup as the number nine, while exit-linked Ridvan Yilmaz starts at left-back.
Youngsters Bailey Rice and Adam Devine are on the bench, alongside experienced players Borna Barisic and Leon Balogun too.
Momentum
The winter break usually marks the midway part of the season and Rangers are now in a position where they know what they need to do in order to be successful.
The results against Copenhagen and Hertha Berlin weren’t ideal preparation for this game, but Clement would have been delighted to be able to have time on the training pitch with his players to implement his ideas a bit more.
This is a chance for the team to get back into the swing of things before the return to SPFL action in midweek, and it’s also a chance for some players to push for a place in the starting lineup.
Injuries remain an issue for the club currently and so there are plenty of roles up for grabs where a good performance or two will be enough to earn a player a run in the team.
It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to the poor conditions for this game, but Gers fans will be expecting a convincing win so it’s down to the players to deliver now.
In other Rangers news, major blow as star ruled out for most of the season with injury.
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