Aberdeen, despite having a new manager, won’t set up against Rangers with an open game plan but Philippe Clement’s selection of John Souttar could be key.
After a surprise draw against Celtic, it was clear to see what the Dons were trying to do and there will undoubtedly be a repeat at Ibrox.
The Gers boss won’t have Leon Balogun available but this is maybe a blessing in disguise with Rangers having the best solution to Aberdeen’s biggest threat in John Souttar.
Rangers can cancel Aberdeen threat with John Souttar
One thing that our other centre-halves are blessed with is pace and, despite being powerfully built, the former Hearts skipper is our quickest.
Looking at DataMB’s comparison model, he comes out on top against Balogun and Connor Goldson in almost every metric for the ‘23/24 season.
Most importantly, the 27-year old is near perfect a winning personal duels both in the air and on the ground.
Exactly what a team needs when defending against counter attacks, especially facing a threat like Bojan Mijovski.
The North Macedonia international has been a great signing for Aberdeen, without him, they would be struggling to keep in touch with the top six.
He has shown against both Rangers and Celtic that, if he is given a chance, few other than Lawrence Shankland, are better in the Scottish Premiership at taking them.
As with against Livingston and Joel Nouble, John Souttar should be deployed in an almost man-marking role on Mijovski.
He has the pace and physicality to deal with the 24-year old who has been mentioned as a possible target for Philippe Clement.
Leon Balogun has his strengths but, as we saw at Pittodrie earlier in the season, he can be caught out.
This is the type of game that Souttar was signed for and, even if Balogun had been fit, he should have been picked.
Since the restart after the winter break, he’s been outstanding whenever he has played and he will need to be at his best again to handle a striker who won’t be long for this league.
