On Sunday at 2pm, Rangers face Ross County at Dingwall. The Staggies currently sit bottom of the league, and are in poor form going into this game. Despite that, they’ll see this match as one with nothing to lose. Earlier in the season, they made the game at Ibrox tight and frustrating. It’s probable that they’ll look to do that again.
ROSS COUNTY LAST 5 LEAGUE RESULTS
Hamilton (away), 3-2 defeat
Hibernian (away), 2-1 defeat
St Johnstone (home), 1-1 draw
Partick Thistle (away), 2-0 defeat
Motherwell (away), 2-0 defeat
Ross County have been playing a 4-3-3 of late, and have made a number of signings in January. They’ve brought in Greg Tansey on loan from Aberdeen, along with Harry Souttar from Stoke. The latter scored an own goal in their last match after replacing injured captain Andrew Davies early in the match. In terms of attacking, their top scorer is Craig Curran. He hasn’t been involved this month, however. Young winger Davis Keillor-Dunn has shown flashes of ability in matches, and Gardyne is experienced and capable. Despite their poor form, they have players who have done well in this league in the past.
For Rangers, this is a game where a lot of questions will need to be answered. Under Murty, we’ve been very inconsistent against the sides we “should beat”. The results against the likes of Aberdeen, Hibs and Celtic have been very good. It’s that sort of level the team needs to show more often overall. After a good win against Aberdeen, it’s likely that the starting team will be the same for this match:
PREDICTED STARTING LINE UP
Foderingham
Tavernier
Bates
Martin
John
Holt
Goss
Candeias
Windass
Murphy
Morelos
Alfredo Morelos will have good memories of this ground, having scored twice there earlier this season. New signing Greg Docherty is likely to start on the bench, and Jason Cummings will be itching to get on again from there as well.
The wide play of Tavernier and Candeias on the right will be key. Both players are in good form, and creating a high number of chances. It’s likely that Ross County will look to nullify that in some way, but the answer as to how won’t be easy to find. Rangers will most likely dominate possession, as County won’t really compete for it. As such, the midfield will have to ensure the tempo stays high to give the creative players space to work in.
If Rangers can start at a high tempo and score early, they could win this one comfortably. However, I suspect that Ross County will make this game difficult. I’m going for a 1-0 win for Rangers.
What’s your predictions for Sunday? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!
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