Rangers are preparing to face off against Hearts for a shot at the Scottish League Cup; and anything but victory will spell disaster for Philippe Clement.
The Ibrox side’s bright start under the Belgian threatens to be derailed if Rangers cannot get past the same stubborn Hearts side who almost took all three points at Ibrox last weekend.
Since that 2-1 victory in Glasgow, Rangers have been to Dundee and thrashed the hapless Dens Park side 5-0 in potentially the club’s strongest domestic performance of the campaign.
For the relentless Philippe Clement, it’s merely a small step in the right direction and constant improvement is the message from within the Ibrox ranks.
With four players definitely ruled out of the match – and Ben Davies a doubt – we suspect that there will only be one change from the team that swatted Dundee to the side amid the delays and the pyro shows.
We’re backing Todd Cantwell to come in from the start in the place of Scott Wright as Rangers look to build on that impressive performance in Dundee.
That means we’re expecting the impressive Jack Butland to continue between the sticks with a defence of James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun and Ridvan Yilmaz in front.
In midfield, John Lundstram and Ryan Jack will continue at the heart of the team with Todd Cantwell playing a slightly more advanced role.
Up top, we expect a combination of Abdallah Sima, Danilo and Sam Lammers to provide the necessary firepower to see Rangers through to the Scottish League Cup Final by overcoming Hearts at Hampden.
Rangers predicted XI v Hearts – 4-2-3-1: Scottish League Cup semi-final
GK – Jack Butland
DR – James Tavernier
DC – Connor Goldson
DC – Leon Balogun
DL – Ridvan Yilmaz
CDM – John Lundstram
CDM – Ryan Jack
CAM – Todd Cantwell
RF – Sam Lammers
LF – Abdallah Sima
ST – Danilo
