Glasgow Rangers are set to travel over to Hampden Park on Sunday in the final of the League Cup, as Philippe Clement aims to win the competition for the second time.
The Belgian head coach lifted the trophy early on in his Gers tenure last year, beating Aberdeen 1-0 in the final, and will now have to overcome Celtic to secure a second piece of silverware in his time at Ibrox.
Rangers come into this match off the back of an impressive 1-1 draw against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Light Blues, however, could be without multiple key players from that starting XI after they picked up a couple of injury concerns against Ange Postecoglou’s side.
The latest Rangers injury news
Central defender John Souttar suffered a knock in the first half of the 1-1 draw at Ibrox and had to be replaced by veteran titan Leon Balogun.
Hamza Igamane was then forced off in the second half after going down holding his leg, but neither player had to be stretchered off by the medical staff.
After the match, Clement did not rule out their involvement on Sunday but did admit that it was too soon to tell and that they would have to monitor how Souttar and Igamane feel ahead of the cup final.
Losing the Moroccan forward to injury would be a huge blow for Rangers ahead of their clash with Celtic, as he has been in terrific form of late, with five goals and one assist in his last five appearances in all competitions.
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Cyriel Dessers came on to replace him against Tottenham but Clement must forget about the Nigeria international and unleash a different forward in Igamane’s place, should he miss out through injury.
The Rangers striker who should replace Igamane
The Belgian head coach should unleash Danilo, who was unavailable for the Spurs draw, as the starting striker for Rangers in the League Cup final to replace the Moroccan ace, although he should start either way.
Clement should start the Brazilian star whether Igamane is fit or not, as the 22-year-old summer signing played on the left with Danilo up front in the last Scottish Premiership match – a 3-0 win over Ross County.
If Igamane is unavailable, though, and it is a straight decision between the ex-Feyenoord man and Dessers for the starting role on Sunday, the former should come out on top.
|
24/25 Premiership |
Danilo |
Dessers |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
6 |
14 |
|
Minutes |
250 |
851 |
|
Goals |
3 |
6 |
|
Shots on target per game |
1.7 |
0.9 |
|
Big chances created |
3 |
2 |
|
Touches per game |
23.3 |
16.9 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Danilo has outperformed the Rangers number nine at Premiership level since his return from injury recently.
The Brazilian dynamo, who was described as an “exciting” talent by Michael Beale, offers a greater threat in front of goal in comparison to Dessers, with more touches, shots on target, and ‘big chances’ created despite playing fewer matches and averaging fewer minutes per appearance.
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This suggests that the former Eredivisie marksman is more likely to make a difference at the top end of the pitch at Hampden Park this weekend in the League Cup final, which is why he should come in to replace Igamane up front, instead of Dessers.
