After the fantastic, hard-fought and magnificent defensive display on Tuesday night at Easter Road against Hibernian, all eyes now turn to Ibrox Stadium. Rangers will be hoping to keep the run of recent victory’s up, building momentum for the upcoming old firm derby. Here are 5 storylines to watch for on Saturday.
1: CAN MORELOS KEEP UP THE GOALS?
Morelos has been back amongst the goals in recent weeks, scoring in clashes with Ross County and Hibernian on Wednesday night. He will surely fancy adding to his tally when St Johnstone come to town, and could prove the key in his hold and link up play, St Johnstone will likely sit deeper than Hibs did, restricting the space in behind. Morelos could be the key to victory.
2: MILLER’S REPLACEMENT
A large majority of the support has long clamoured for Kenny Miller to be dropped, and with his injury forcing him off the other night, all eyes turn to who is replacement will be. Will Murty opt to bring back Pena or will he go for a more traditional two up top and select Herrera , the other options are starting with the side that ended the Hibs clash, but playing 3 centre-halves at home is unlikely, or seeing young Barjonas retain his place, despite a quiet showing at Easter Road.
3: WILL WINDASS SCORE AGAIN?
Josh Windass is fast becoming this teams go to player. It has taken sometime and a load of stick ( some from myself ) , but we are finally seeing not just the level of performance and goals, but the timing of these strikes, the best example being in the last match, on a night where the majority of fans would have taken going in at half time one nil down, Windass had other ideas. His goal was one befitting a player in a rich vein of confidence, in turn providing the team the spark to kick on. Saturday should present him another opportunity to add to his goal tally.
4: WILL DECLAN JOHN RETURN TO FORM?
Despite the recent run of results, one thing of note in the past 4/5 games, in my opinion, is the drop in form of Declan John at left back. Saturday should prove a welcome occasion for the Welshman to be at his best. John’s play in both the attacking and defensive transitions of the game will be needed, and he should get plenty of space to run at St Johnstone, hopefully, we can see him recapture the level of showing he displayed on first arrival.
5: 5 WINS IN A ROW
Whisper it quietly but this Rangers side are just 90 minutes away from winning 5 games in a row. This may be the bare minimum expected at a club like ours, but nerveless it is one that not so long ago looked well beyond the capabilities of this group. St Johnstone, will be well organised and always prove a tricky test , but after recent form, this should be another 3 points in the bag.
Steven Harrigan
@steven_harrigan
@rangersnewsuk