Barry Ferguson has a few decisions to make when Rangers face Athletic Club for a place in the Europa League semi-finals.
The interim Rangers manager has hinted that he will make changes to his tactics for the rest of the season so it will be interesting to see how many he makes.
In terms of the line-up, there is one that will be universally welcomed.
There is an almost fully fit Rangers squad, however, Ferguson will have to go without John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande due to suspension.
Jack Butland might be dropped, but the bigger shock would be seeing Cyriel Dessers’ name and not Hamza Igamane leading Rangers’ attack.
- READ MORE: Five things we noticed from Rangers training ahead of Europa League visit of Athletic Club
Cyriel Dessers vs Hamza Igamane to start for Rangers?
The 12 chances to score one against Dundee was almost forgiven by some given that the Rangers No.9 scored the winner.
Against Hibs, the 30-year old quickly turned from hero to villain as he failed to find the back of the net despite several good chances.
The Europa League is a different game though and both strikers have respectable records.
In terms of gross numbers, Dessers has 10 appearances, 617 minutes (seven starts) for his three goals and two assists.
The three goals come from an xG (expected goals) score of 5.34 though so, theoretically, Dessers has missed more chances than he has scored – surprise, surprise.
Igamane, has played eight times in the Europa League, starting just four and has played only 412 minutes.
His return, is four goals and one assist off an xG of 1.17.
Compared to Dessers, who has underperformed his xG by over two goals, Igamane has overperformed by three.
In short, Igamane is more likely to take a smaller chance of scoring than Dessers is a good chance.
Why there is only one decision for Ferguson to make
It isn’t just the basic metric of goals that splits the two Rangers strikers.
The eye test has Igamane as a clear winner too.
Nobody got pass marks against Dundee, but even in a deeper role Igamane still made an impact.
Three times he put Dessers one v one with Trevor Carson in the Dundee goal, not once did he capitalise.
Despite his inexperience, Igamane has already shown that he is more composed and capable of making something happen out of nothing.
With a lack of things to get positive about, seeing the young Moroccan in the starting XI would at least give fans a bit of hope – if chances can be created.
