Rangers fans don’t have to wait long now to get their first glimpse of a Pedro Caixinha team in action. After a full week of build-up and chatter, what matters most is the job done between the white lines of the Ibrox pitch against Hamilton Academical.
Caixinha will of course be hoping to impress the loyal home support and start to mount a comeback on Aberdeen who currently sit eight points ahead of Rangers in second place.
Accies aren’t going to be easy opposition and will be desperate to show they are a better side than the one that got battered 6-0 at the home of the Gers just two weeks ago.
It’s all set to be a very intriguing encounter. Can Hamilton tear up the script and pick up a vital victory to help stave off relegation? Or will Rangers overpower the visitors and build on their recent good form?
This is Caixinha’s how-to-guide to get the job done on Saturday…
Formation: 4-3-3
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Pedro Caixinha favours a back four with high pressing and swashbuckling full-backs so we’re expecting Lee Hodson to drop out and James Tavernier to take his place back on the right hand side of their backline. Tavernier is best suited to Saturday’s game where the Gers are expected to dominate possession and territory; his powerful running and ability to find men in the final third will be a key part of their attacking threat.
The attacking responsibility of both Lee Wallace and Tavernier will mean Caixinha will probably deploy a sitting defensive midfielder, most likely Jason Holt with the personnel available. Holt will play a key role in defending against what will be a spirited Accies counter-attack and will seek aid from Emerson Hyndman in repelling that.
Up front we fancy Joe Garner to return from suspension and attempt to pick up from his incredible hat-trick against Hamilton two weeks ago. With Barrie McKay and Kenny Miller likely to be busy around him, it could be a formidable Gers attack.
The threat: Ali Crawford
Pedro Caixinha singled out Ali Crawford for praise in his pre-match press conference and reckons he is probably the biggest danger in terms of Hamilton’s attacking threat. Crawford actually looked lively in the opening half an hour in the Scottish Cup two weeks ago and will be out to impress again.
He’s a strong runner and on his day can be incisive in the final third, so Caixinha’s team will need to be extra wary of him when Hamilton counter.
With goals in the past at Celtic Park, he clearly has what it takes to make an impact on the big stage and Saturday is a massive opportunity to raise his reputation in the Scottish Premiership.
The key man: Barrie McKay
Some things never change at Ibrox and one of those things will be Barrie McKay’s importance to the team. At Al-Gharafa Pedro Caixinha deployed Vladimir Weiss in a roaming role around his striker and McKay could be given that responsibility on Saturday, rather than just purely stuck on the left flank offering width.
He has the skill and ability to impact a game in all areas of the pitch and drifting in from the left hand side, he could be a devastating force in support of Joe Garner.
McKay is likely to be asked to cut into the middle of the park more regularly under Caixinha who likes his sides to narrow in attack as their possession progresses. With Lee Wallace likely to be overlapping, that partnership could be key in unlocking what will be a determined Accies defence.
The style: Aggressive, attacking
As quoted by The Courier, Caixinha explained the style he wants his side to play with, saying:
I want a team that is always attacking. So, we have the ball, we attack our opponent’s goal. We don’t have the ball, we attack the ball again. That’s the combination – I want the team to become aggressive.
That’s certainly the style we saw at Celtic Park last week. There was a fight in the Rangers side that has been lacking recently and if Caixinha can tap into that then it could be an impressive debut performance for his team in the new era.
Expect Rangers to be motivated from the off, eager to put in a big performance in front of their own fans, even more so than usual. They have a lot to prove and the spark created by Caixinha’s arrival gives them all the chance of a fresh start to prove themselves to the supporters who pay their wages.
If aggression and attacking play is the name of the game, then it surely won’t be long until fans are appeased.
