Rangers have confirmed their starting XI for the Scottish Premiership trip to face Motherwell at Fir Park.
Philippe Clement is under mounting pressure following the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat to St Mirren which saw his side fall 12 points behind in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Rangers quite simply must bounce back against Motherwell in North Lanarkshire with anything but three points guaranteed to see calls for the Belgian’s head get louder.
Here’s how Rangers line up against Motherwell this afternoon.
Rangers starting XI v Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
Rangers decide to stick with goalkeeper Jack Butland despite his howler in the defeat to St Mirren.
The 31-year-old was probably reinstated to the side too soon after dropping out for Liam Kelly following the birth of his child.
But the goalkeeper continues between the sticks against the Steelmen as Rangers patch together a makeshift defence.
Injuries at the heart of the Rangers defence mean Robin Propper and Dujon Sterling, who were both rocky against St Mirren, start at Fir Park.
James Tavernier starts at right-back with Ridvan Yilmaz coming in from the start against Motherwell.
In midfield, Rangers start with Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande, with Kieran Dowell a surprise starter in place of Ianis Hagi.
Rangers have also rung the changes in the final third, with Oscar Cortes, Danilo and Cyriel Dessers replacing Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igamane and Nedim Bajrami.
In total Philippe Clement has made seven changes from the side who lost to St Mirren.
Rangers must win v Motherwell
Rangers quite simply must record a victory against Motherwell or we expect Patrick Stewart might be overseeing something of an overhaul early on in his Ibrox tenure.
There are already plenty of supporters who’ve lost faith in Philippe Clement and the only way the Belgian can rebuild it is by chipping away at Celtic’s lead.
Kris Boyd reckons a failure to defeat Motherwell and Celtic will cost big Phil his job and if the players care a jot for the manager’s future, then they will step up at Fir Park.
We expect Stuart Kettlewell’s side to put up a spirited display for the Steelmen so this is anything but a gimme and most certainly a must win in the context of the season.
Over to you Rangers.
