Rangers have had real variety in their engine room, therefore picking Steven Gerrard’s favourite midfielders is tricky.
The Rangers manager hasn’t stuck to a single formation or single two or three midfielders in his engine room. Instead, it seems to be horses for courses with the new man.
Yet, with everyone fit, how does the Rangers midfield truly look? In all honesty? Nobody knows because Gerrard hasn’t had that luxury. So far, if it’s not Lassana Coulibaly sitting out injured then it’s Ryan Jack or Ovie Ejaria.
At this moment in time, the Gers manager could be without both Ejaria and Jack for the trip to Villarreal. El Madrigal will be a daunting venue for the Gers players in their first experience in Europe, but they need to try and thrive in itj
Coulibaly is likely to be in there alongside Scott Arfield and Andy Halliday. Halliday’s renaissance has been simmering nicely, and he made even more impressive strides against Dundee on Saturday. He also performed extremely well in Maribor, and is more than capable of putting in a fine shift.
With all of his midfielders available, however, Halliday isn’t getting into the side you would imagine.
Gerrard’s strongest midfield
Instead, Gerrard’s strongest midfield consists of Jack, Ejaria, and Coulibaly in this writer’s opinion. In Gerrard’s opinion, he has Arfield in there.
The thing is, not all four of those central midfielders can play, and Gerrard has spoken in the past about the importance of engine room balance.
Gerrard’s ideal formation is clearly the 4-1-4-1 formation, with Jack occupying the holding role behind the midfield four. The central pair in front of him would be Coulibaly and Arfield.
Coulibaly has surprised many with his willingness to attack and also his ability to do so. He arrived with many supporters believing he was an old-fashioned defensive-midfielder. Instead, he just seems to have a bit of everything.
To sum up, this midfield trio would leave out Ejaria, which is hugely harsh. But Gerrard has spoken highly of almost each and every one of his midfielders this season.
There’s not much between any of the players in that position, and Gerrard’s managed to rotate well enough that everyone is happy so far.
Whether he can maintain that positive vibe in the long-run is a challenge, but with injury concerns persisting, rotation continues to be a necessity.
