Predicted Rangers team vs Celtic: Key star out with injury as Clement makes tactical tweak and three changes
Here is how we think Rangers will line up against Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final.
Rangers are looking to go back-to-back in the League Cup when they face Celtic this Sunday.
Philippe Clement’s side were riding the crest of a wave when winning this trophy last season and have now come through choppy waters to make this final in decent form. A 1-1 draw with Tottenham midweek in the Europa League has bouyed the mood around Ibrox.
In three changes from the side that played out the game with Spurs, the inability to diagnose a timeline for John Souttar’s injury gives us the feeling Leon Balogun will come into central defence. Connor Barron replaces Mohamed Diomande in midfield and Danilo replaces Jefte, pushing Ridvan Yilmaz to left-back as the forward joins the front three.
That gives boss Clement a slight tactical tweak, going for two strikers instead of one. He said ahead of this one: “If you don't have that belief as a player, as a manager, as a club you cannot play like we did against Tottenham. So, it starts with belief before the game, not during the game.
“The belief was there before the game, the belief has been there for quite a while and the team feel that they are making steps in every sense, so it is about doing that again on Sunday.
“It is about recovery now and then to pick the right squad, to get some fresh legs in the team and to play our football against Celtic, it is going to be a really good clash with two good teams.”
Predicted Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Propper, Balogun, Yilmaz; Barron, Raskin, Bajrami; Cerny, Danilo, Igamane.