Pundits believes £25k per week player is now absolutely ‘key’ for Clement this season

Pundits believes £25k per week player is now absolutely ‘key’ for Clement this season

Cyriel Dessers, who is currently in good form, is expected to be replaced by Fabio Silva,

while Tom Lawrence may replace Ross McCausland.

The Belgian delivered a near-perfect performance at home to Hearts over the weekend,

and his team responded with a spectacular 5-0 victory, dispelling any thoughts of complacency after passing Celtic at the top of the table.

The in-form third-placed team was eventually dispatched with ease, but an away game against the fourth-placed side,

who haven’t been beaten since their last meeting with the Gers on January 2,

is the next most difficult assignment outside of an Old Firm rivalry.

There could be a case for leaving things as they are after such an impressive win,

but with games coming twice a week, there is likely to be a need for some rotation,

even if the manager revealed that there were, for once, no new injuries ahead of this one,

but Kemar Roofe will not be risked [Rangers via Twitter, 27 February].

Tom Lawrence withdraws from Rangers’ lineup that defeated Hearts at Ibrox.

Dessers scored twice against the Jambos, continuing his good form under Clement,

but he should have had a lot more, while Silva came off the substitute to score the fifth and came close to a sensational sixth at Ibrox.

The Nigerian may deserve to keep his spot based on his double,

but the Rangers manager has been rotating his two strikers since the Wolves youngster arrived on loan,

and it has worked well, with Dessers scoring seven times in 2024, so keeping him on his toes makes sense.

Silva appeared crisper in his time on the field against Hearts, so another changeover between the two could be in the cards.

Lawrence, despite some good work in the build-up to Oscar Cortes’ first-half goal,

was possibly the only man in the Rangers XI who didn’t quite achieve the heights at the weekend, thus he may be replaced by McCausland.

There would be some value in rotating the centre-backs, with Leon Balogun or Ben Davies coming in,

but establishing a permanent partnership at the position is currently more important,

and after John Souttar’s excellent performance alongside Connor Goldson last time out, there is no need to disrupt that.

 

The Light Blues are expected to start with potential England selection Jack Butland in goal and an unchanged back line of James Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, and Ridvan Yilmaz.

In midfield, John Lundstram and big-money man Mohamed Diomande return, along with the increasingly influential Dujon Sterling.

Cortes remains on the wing, while McCausland replaces Silva up top.

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