Rangers: Philippe Clement must axe Cyriel Dessers for Ayr clash after 0% shocker v Aberdeen
Rangers continued their superb run under Belgian boss Philippe Clement with a hard-fought league win against Aberdeen.
The Gers edged out the Dons 2-1 at Ibrox on Tuesday (6 February), with Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell scoring either side of Bojan Miovski’s goal for the visitors.
The huge three points means Rangers sit three points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership table, with a game in hand over their fierce rivals.
There is, however, a break from that exciting title race this weekend, with Rangers taking on Ayr in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday (10 February).
It is a match that Clement’s side will be expected to win, particularly given how it is taking place at Ibrox. But the man in the dugout should still go with a strong XI in order to avoid an upset, one that Ayr boss Scott Brown would remember for quite some time.
And one change that Clement should make is dropping Cyriel Dessers for Fabio Silva, with the summer arrival having started against the Dons on Tuesday, with the winter signing starting on the bench.
But Silva replaced Dessers after just 57 minutes, which was not surprising at all given the latter’s struggles under the lights at Ibrox.
As per Sofascore, the summer signing didn’t win any of his four duels (0%), with three ground duels and one aerial duel lost. Moreover, the striker had two shots off target and failed to complete his only dribble attempt, in stark contrast to Silva’s impressive cameo.
Clement must now change things around for the visit of Ayr on Saturday, with Silva getting the nod up front in place of Dessers.
In other Rangers news, Neil Warnock has reacted instantly to a Gers controversy during the clash with Aberdeen at Ibrox.
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