Glasgow Rangers kick off the New Year with their second Old Firm clash of the 2024/25 league campaign, welcoming rivals Celtic to Ibrox this afternoon.
The Gers play host to the Hoops in the 3 pm kick-off today and will be looking to cut down the gap between the two teams to 11 points in the Scottish Premiership table.
Philippe Clement’s side will be out for revenge after their Glasgow rivals beat them on penalties in the final of the League Cup at Hampden Park last month.
The Light Blues were also beaten 3-0 in their only Premiership meeting to date at Parkhead at the start of September, which should provide enough motivation for them to go out and fight for a positive result this time around.
Rangers also head into this match directly off the back of a 2-2 draw with Motherwell at Fir Park in the Scottish top-flight last time out, battling back from 2-0 down at half-time to secure a point.
Clement rested a number of stars from the team in that match and two of them – Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny – should come straight back into the starting XI.
Why Cerny and Igamane should be unleashed
Celtic have only conceded four goals in 18 league matches so far this season and this means that Rangers will need to be at their very best from an attacking perspective.
With that in mind, the Belgian head coach must ensure that he has his best attacking options on the pitch from the start, which is why Cerny and Igamane should both be in the line-up.
The latter came off the bench with the score at 2-0 to Motherwell and scored twice, the second of which was a stunning finish into the far corner on the edge of the box.
Igamane has now racked up seven goals and two assists in his last nine appearances for the Scottish giants in all competitions, which shows that he is in red-hot form and could cause Celtic plenty of problems in the final third, whether that is off the left or through the middle.
Meanwhile, Cerny, who joined on loan from Wolfsburg in the summer, came off the bench to provide three key passes and create one ‘big chance’ in the second half last time out.
Appearances
14
Goals
7
Big chances created
4
Key passes per game
2.5
Assists
1
As you can see in the table above, the Czechia international has provided regular quality at the top end of the pitch in the Premiership throughout the season so far, with 11 goals and ‘big chances’ created in 14 starts.
The left-footed star has excelled at cutting in onto his favoured foot from the right flank to score goals and create ‘big chances’ for his teammates, although they have let him down with their wasteful finishing at times.
In order to bring these two back into the starting XI for this Old Firm clash, Clement has to instantly bin two players from the team and the first of those should be Kieran Dowell.
Why Kieran Dowell should be dropped
The English attacking midfielder was selected to start as part of the attacking midfield set-up in the clash with Motherwell and did not do enough to justify his continued inclusion.
Dowell was handed just his second start of the Premiership season and his first appearance since a cameo against Ross County on the 8th of December.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder only played the first 45 minutes of the match before being withdrawn for Cerny, who came in on the right side of the frontline.
Minutes
45
Shots
0
Key passes
1
Pass accuracy
58% (7/12)
Duels won
1/4
As you can see in the table above, Dowell struggled throughout those opening 45 minutes, with sloppy passing, weak play out of possession, and a lack of threat in the final third.
The £16k-per-week flop has only recorded two goals and two assists in 23 league games since his move to the club from Norwich in the summer of 2023, and this suggests that Cerny could come in to offer far more in front of goal.
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Dowell is not the only attacker who should be dropped from the starting line-up, though, as Clement must also take Cyriel Dessers out of the side to bring Igamane in.
Why Cyriel Dessers should be dropped
Firstly, the Nigeria international has a torrid record against Celtic since his move to Ibrox in 2023, with one goal, one draw, and six defeats in seven appearances against them in all competitions.
This shows that he has consistently struggled to find success against the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, and Auston Trusty in his clashes with the Hoops, which does not suggest that he is likely to be a good option to start against them today.
His overall form in front of goal for the Gers in all competitions this season adds further fuel to that fire, as Dessers has been incredibly wasteful at the top end of the pitch.
He has scored just six goals and missed eight ‘big chances’ in 17 appearances in the Premiership, and has one goal from 3.98 xG across six matches in the Europa League.
The Rangers number nine’s performance against Motherwell in the first-half last time out also suggests that he should be instantly ditched from the side.
Minutes
45
Goals + assists
0
Big chances missed
2
Passes completed
5/7
Duels won
1/7
As you can see in the table above, the £27k-per-week dud barely got involved in the build-up play for Rangers, completing just five passes, and lost the majority of his physical battles.
Crucially, the experienced forward also missed both of the ‘big chances’ that came his way in the match, and was shown by Igamane, who came on to score twice from three shots in the second half.
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Therefore, overall, Clement must ditch the £43k-per-week duo, as they both struggled against Motherwell, and bring Cerny and Igamane back into the team.