Glasgow Rangers face Benfica at Ibrox on Thursday evening with a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League up for grabs.
Philippe Clement may have to make a few changes to his starting XI from the team that defeated Hibs 2-0 at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup on the weekend, as Dujon Sterling and Ross McCausland both came off with injuries.
The Belgian manager won't just be mixing things up on the wings either, with a couple of changes afoot in other areas of the side, as Cyriel Dessers has failed to impress during his previous two starts…
Cyriel Dessers’ game in numbers vs Benfica
The 29-year-old was given the nod to start against the Portuguese side last week, but he failed to have any meaningful impact during the game.
Goals
0
Big chances created
0
Dribble success
0/2
Total shots
0
Touches
17
Via Sofascore
The Nigerian striker was barely involved, taking only 17 touches, and completing eight passes during his 76 minutes on the field as Rangers had to go down other avenues in search for goals.
Indeed, he failed with both of his dribble attempts, did not take a single shot all game while winning just two of his eight contested duels, and was brought off for Kemar Roofe with just 15 minutes left.
Roofe may have had his injury issues recently, but there is no doubt Clement must give him a start this evening at Ibrox.
Kemar Roofe’s season in numbers
Roofe looked lively during his cameo last week, while he was also given some minutes against Hibs over the weekend as he is building up his fitness.
The centre-forward has missed large chunks of the season due to several injury problems and with his contract expiring at the end of the campaign, he could well be entering the final few months of his spell in Glasgow.
In his 19 appearances this term, Roofe has scored twice and added an assist. One of his goals came in the Europa League back in December as he scored the winner against Real Betis, which meant the Gers topped their group.
It is in Europe that he has impressed the most. Despite starting just once in the competition, Roofe has created a big chance, averaged 0.5 key passes per game, completed 0.5 successful dribbles per game (0.5) while also winning 3.5 total duels per match.
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These stats should give Clement the licence to finally unleash him into the starting XI and if he is ready, there is no doubt the striker could cause problems for the Benfica defence.
The £26k-per-week striker was dubbed a “Duracell bunny” by his former manager Steven Gerrard due to his incredible work rate and hunger during matches, and this is exactly what Clement needs on a big night in Europe.
A win will send the Gers through to the quarter-finals of the event for the second time in three years and not only will it boost the coffers, but also give the club some momentum heading into the final weeks of the season.
Clement has done a wonderful job since arriving, with the Benfica tie proving to be the toughest test yet.
