New signing to be axed, hero Miovski left out – Predicted Rangers XI v Celtic
Derek McInnes appears to have finally settled on his best formula after Rangers’ dramatic 1-0 win over St Mirren, and the knock-on effect heading into Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Celtic looks set to be a genuinely surprising one, with deadline-day signing Kevin Kelsy expected to be dropped entirely from the starting lineup, while stoppage-time hero Bojan Miovski, fresh off his dramatic winner at Ibrox, is not expected to be rewarded with a recall to the side either. It makes for one of the more intriguing team selection dilemmas of McInnes’ short tenure so far, with the Rangers boss facing the prospect of leaving out both his record signing and his most recent match-winner as he prepares his side for the first Old Firm meeting of the season.
The broader context behind this predicted selection cannot be separated from the remarkable turnaround Rangers have enjoyed over the past month, a run of form that has completely transformed the mood around Ibrox after such a difficult start to McInnes’ reign. Rangers have now won four matches in a row across all competitions, a sequence capped by Wednesday’s last-gasp victory over St Mirren, in which Miovski came off the bench to lob home a stoppage-time winner after latching onto a Ryan Naderi flick-on, sending Ibrox into raptures and lifting the club to second place in the Scottish Premiership table. That victory arrived on the back of away wins at Falkirk and Aberdeen, followed by a hard-fought home win over Motherwell, giving McInnes his first genuine run of momentum since replacing his predecessor over the summer.
Between the sticks, Ivor Pandur looks certain to retain his place after a performance against St Mirren that did plenty to further endear him to the Ibrox support. The Croatian goalkeeper produced a smart save to keep the scores level at a crucial moment of the contest, while his pinpoint long-ball distribution directly created the winning goal itself, finding Naderi’s flick-on that ultimately teed up Miovski for the decisive touch. Given that combination of shot-stopping reliability and genuine attacking value from distribution, there is little reason for McInnes to consider any change between the posts ahead of what will be Pandur’s first taste of Old Firm football, an occasion unlike any other he is likely to have experienced during his career to date.
In front of him, the same back four that started against St Mirren looks likely to be retained in its entirety. Dujon Sterling, who has spoken this week about enjoying his healthiest run of fitness since joining the club more than three years ago, should continue at right-back, while Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez are both expected to keep their places at the heart of the defence despite the latter’s involvement in the still-simmering penalty controversy from Wednesday’s match, when pundits including Andy Halliday argued forcefully that Fernandez should have conceded a spot-kick for his challenge on Ismeal Kabia. James Penrice, meanwhile, looks set to continue at left-back, completing a defensive unit that McInnes appears increasingly comfortable trusting as a settled and cohesive group. The knock-on effect of that continuity is that Ben Godfrey, who might otherwise have expected to push for involvement in a fixture of this magnitude given his experience, looks set to remain among the substitutes for now, at least until his manager decides the balance of the team requires a change.
Central midfield is where some of the more interesting recent developments in Rangers’ squad hierarchy come into sharper focus. Dan Neil, who joined the club on a free transfer from Sunderland over the summer, has been so impressive over the past week that he looks set to not only retain his place but also take on the captaincy for Sunday’s derby, a remarkable rise in stature for a player who has only recently begun to establish himself as a first-choice option under McInnes. Alongside him, Nico Raskin continues to look like one of the first names on the team sheet regardless of whatever reshuffling takes place elsewhere in the side, and his continued involvement, provided he has recovered sufficiently from being withdrawn late on against St Mirren as part of a clear effort to manage his minutes ahead of the derby, should give Rangers a considerable degree of control and composure in the middle of the park against a Celtic side that has been in similarly impressive recent form under Martin O’Neill.
It is further forward, however, where the genuinely spicy selection decisions come into play, and where McInnes’ apparent willingness to make bold, form-based calls rather than simply rewarding recent heroics is likely to generate the most discussion among supporters in the build-up to Sunday’s fixture. Djeidi Gassama has been doing virtually everything right in recent weeks aside from finding that crucial end product, and there remains a strong expectation among those close to the club that once he does begin converting his promising performances into goals and assists, he will establish himself as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the entire Scottish Premiership. On the strength of that overall body of work, Gassama looks set to keep his place in the side, continuing to be backed by his manager to find the finishing touch that has so far eluded him.
Joining him could well be Badredine Bouanani, whose full debut against St Mirren was widely regarded as the standout individual performance of the entire match, with the Algerian winger, on loan from Stuttgart with a reported buy option attached, having looked lively and genuinely dangerous throughout his hour on the pitch before making way in the second half. Given the impression Bouanani made in his first extended taste of action in Scottish football, it would represent a considerable surprise if McInnes did not look to build on that promising introduction by handing him another start against Celtic, particularly given the raw attacking talent and unpredictability he offers going forward.
It is the identity of Rangers’ central striking option, however, where the most eyebrow-raising selection decision of the entire predicted lineup emerges. Kevin Kelsy, signed for a fee in excess of nine million pounds from Portland Timbers in the closing hours of the summer transfer window, endured a difficult full debut against St Mirren, one that saw him withdrawn in the 60th minute having struggled to make a significant impact on proceedings. Given the scale of investment and expectation attached to his arrival, that quiet full debut appears to have been enough to convince McInnes that his record signing is not yet ready to lead the line in a fixture as demanding and high-pressure as an Old Firm derby, with the expectation instead being that Ryan Naderi, rather than Kelsy, will be preferred as Rangers’ central attacking outlet against Celtic.
Perhaps even more surprising than Kelsy’s expected omission, though, is the suggestion that Bojan Miovski will not be rewarded for his dramatic match-winning intervention against St Mirren with a recall to the starting lineup. Having come off the bench to score the decisive goal in stoppage time, and having been embraced by an emotional McInnes on the touchline immediately afterward amid wild scenes of celebration, it might have seemed a reasonably natural assumption that Miovski would be given the opportunity to build on that moment with a first start since his recent return to the goalscoring form that first attracted Rangers’ interest in signing him. Instead, the expectation is that Naderi will retain his place up front rather than making way for Miovski, a decision that reflects McInnes’ evident trust in the player who provided the assist for Wednesday’s winner, and who has scored important goals of his own in recent weeks, including the winner against Motherwell.
Completing the expected starting eleven is Kim Min-su, who, much like Gassama, has reportedly been doing everything but finding that crucial final end product since making his own move to Ibrox, and who is expected to be handed the opportunity to continue his own development in a fixture of this magnitude alongside his more experienced and increasingly influential teammates in the final third.
Taken as a whole, this predicted Rangers lineup, Pandur; Sterling, Makhanya, Fernandez, Penrice; Neil, Raskin; Bouanani, Kim, Gassama; Naderi, represents a fascinating snapshot of exactly where McInnes’ squad currently stands heading into the biggest fixture of his tenure so far. It is a selection built almost entirely around recent form and consistency of performance, rather than reputation, price tag, or a single moment of individual match-winning brilliance, and it speaks to a manager who appears increasingly confident in his own read of which players are currently delivering the level of performance required at exactly the moment such contributions matter most.
The broader context surrounding Sunday’s fixture only adds to the significance of these selection decisions. Celtic arrive at Ibrox with a perfect record in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, extending their own excellent recent form with a narrow 1-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in midweek, a result that made it six straight league victories under Martin O’Neill. That the champions should be riding such a wave of momentum into the first Old Firm meeting of the season only heightens the stakes for McInnes and his players, who will be desperate to use this fixture as a platform to demonstrate that their own recent upturn in form represents genuine, sustainable progress rather than simply a temporary reprieve from the difficulties that characterised the opening weeks of the season.
Celtic themselves are expected to make something in the region of five changes to the side that started against St Johnstone, with Kasper Schmeichel’s deputy Fraser Sinisalo likely to continue in goal ahead of Sam Johnstone, while Kieran Tierney is expected to return to the starting lineup at left-back after coming on late in midweek. Cameron Carter-Vickers, who was rested against St Johnstone due to fatigue rather than any fresh injury concern, is expected to return to partner Auston Trusty in central defence, giving O’Neill’s side a settled and experienced look at the back as they aim to progress to the semi-final stage of the Premier Sports Cup at the expense of their fiercest rivals.
For McInnes personally, the decisions to leave out both his record signing and his most recent match-winner represent a genuine show of managerial conviction, one that suggests a level of confidence and clarity of thinking that has not always been evident during the more turbulent early weeks of his time in charge at Ibrox. Handing the captaincy to Dan Neil, a player who arrived on a free transfer only a matter of months ago, further underlines just how quickly McInnes appears willing to reward current form and performance levels over reputation or seniority, a managerial approach that, if it continues to be vindicated by results on the pitch, could prove to be an important part of the foundation McInnes is building as he looks to establish his own identity and philosophy at a club with such demanding expectations attached to virtually every fixture, but none more so than this one.
Whether this predicted lineup ultimately proves accurate come Sunday afternoon remains to be seen, and McInnes could yet spring a surprise or two of his own once his final team news is confirmed closer to kick-off, particularly given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding several fitness situations elsewhere in the squad. But based on the balance of evidence from recent performances and McInnes’ own comments and conduct in the build-up to this fixture, this looks like the shape of a Rangers side that has finally found its best formula after weeks of difficult early-season searching, one built on consistency, form, and a clear sense of what each individual player currently brings to the team, rather than simply defaulting to reputation or recent headlines when the biggest fixture of the season so far finally arrives at Ibrox.
