The Daily Record has revealed that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard could be without up to five players for this weekend’s Old Firm clash.
Gerrard without five first-team stars
The match against Celtic is hugely important. Rangers have had a fantastic start to the season, winning eight and drawing two of their first ten Premiership matches, but the fixtures against their fierce rivals are likely to define their campaign.
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Steven Gerrard will have been hoping for a full compliment of players to choose from. However, this report says that Allan McGregor, Filip Helander, Joe Aribo and Kemar Roofe are all doubts, whilst Alfredo Morelos’ late return from Colombia duty could also see him miss out.
Squad depth at Ibrox
It is hard to shed any real positive light on this situation. All of the aforementioned players are important to Gerrard, and their absence would make the 54-time Scottish champions a weaker side.
Having said that, the Gers do at least now have a squad to deal with this. McGregor is a Rangers legend, but Jon McLaughlin has kept seven clean sheets in his first eight matches for the club and is a reliable shot-stopper. Leon Balogun can replace Helander, whilst the Ibrox outfit are still unbeaten despite being without Aribo for ten games this term. Roofe and Morelos are important forwards, but Cedric Itten and Jermain Defoe are more than capable of holding their own.
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Yes, without these players Rangers are not the same side. However, with the squad they have assembled, fans should not be in total meltdown if they are unavailable this weekend.
Rangers fans, let us know what you think below!
