Glasgow Rangers must turn their attention away from the SFA Cup as they return to Scottish Premiership action against Ross County this evening.
The Light Blues play host to the 11th-placed side on home soil tonight as they look to move ahead of their rivals Celtic and to the top of the table.
A win by three goals or more would secure their place in first on goal difference, and both teams would have played the same number of matches.
Ahead of this clash with the Staggies, Philippe Clement confirmed that Ryan Jack is the only player who will not be available for selection from the team that won at the weekend, as they manage his fitness.
Rangers beat Ayr 2-0 at Ibrox last time out as they secured their place in the quarter-finals of the SFA Cup and the Belgian manager could now make some alterations to the starting XI from that clash.
Todd Cantwell must be unleashed from the start by the Scottish giants to form a partnership with Portuguese striker Fabio Silva in the final third.
Why Todd Cantwell should start tonight
The English attacking midfielder should be brought back into the starting XI in place of recent signing Mohammed Diomande, who is still settling into life in Glasgow.
Cantwell is a proven performer for Rangers who has been at the club for over a year and has the experience and quality to make an instant impact on the pitch tonight.
Whereas, Diomande still needs time to adjust, and a bench role for him in the Premiership, barring injury and suspension issues, could be the best way for Clement to manage his situation.
The 22-year-old whiz started the win over Ayr but failed to contribute with a goal or an assist in the attacking midfield position, which came after a 15-minute cameo off the bench against Aberdeen in the club’s last league outing.
He spent the first half of the season with Nordsjaelland and produced zero goals and three assists in 13 appearances for the Danish side in the Superliga.
At the age of 22, Diomande does not need to have an immediate impact on the pitch and could be viewed as a longer-term project, rather than a player to displace Cantwell in the short-term, who can learn from his teammates and gain minutes as a substitute over the coming weeks and months.
His statistics for the Danish club suggest that the Ivorian gem is not ready to be a consistent contributor in the final third, whereas, the former Norwich star has been exactly that for the Gers since his move to Ibrox last year.
Todd Cantwell’s Premiership brilliance
Michael Beale swooped to sign the Canaries academy graduate on a permanent deal in January 2023, and it did not take long for him to make his mark in Scotland.
Cantwell ended the second half of the 2022/23 campaign with a return of six goals, four assists, and five ‘big chances’ created in 16 Premiership appearances for the Light Blues.
This means that he produced a goal or an assist more than once every other match on average for the Scottish giants from a midfield position, which speaks to his huge influence in the middle of the park from an attacking perspective.
He had a slow start to the current campaign with zero goals or assists in four top-flight games under Beale but has found his feet again under Clement.
In 12 starts since the English tactician was relieved of his duties at the start of October, Cantwell has found the back of the net five times and provided three assists.
Four of those goals have come in his last five league appearances for the Light Blues, with the latest being the winner against Aberdeen last time out in the Premiership.
Todd Cantwell
Vs Aberdeen
Minutes played
85
Sofascore rating
7.6
Goals
One
Chances created
Two
Pass accuracy
89%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Cantwell was on top form against the Dons last week with an impressive showing in the middle of the park, bundling in the winning goal off a rebound from Tom Lawrence’s long-range effort.
The £22k-per-week wizard, who was described as “thriving” under Clement by journalist Joshua Barrie, is a big goal threat who can also create chances for his teammates, which makes him a dream number ten for any team.
It also makes him the perfect player to select behind a centre-forward who wants service to his feet, which is why Cantwell should start with Silva ahead of him.
Fabio Silva’s goalscoring potential
The Portuguese striker was signed on loan from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of the January transfer window and has enjoyed a solid start to life in Scotland.
Silva has scored two goals in his last two starts for the Light Blues and produced one goal in two starts in the Premiership in total over the past six weeks.
The Wolves loanee started against Ayr in the SFA Cup over the weekend and showcased his goalscoring instincts with a sharp swivel and powerful finish to make it 2-0, as shown in the clip below.
You can also see that Cantwell was pivotal to the goal with a superb turn and cross in the box to create chaos in the six-yard box, which resulted in the ball falling for the striker to score.
This shows that the pair can combine for goals within the penalty area and Clement will hope that there will be many more examples to look at by the end of the season.
Hopefully, they can link up again, whether that results in Cantwell scoring or Silva, against Ross County tonight to secure an emphatic win that sends Rangers to the top of the table.
The 21-year-old centre-forward has until the end of the season, before his return to Wolves, to impress the Light Blues faithful, and he is already on his way to doing just that with his recent goals.
It is now down to Silva, who scored 11 goals in 32 matches for Anderlecht last season, to keep up his current form and punish opposition defences alongside Cantwell over the coming weeks and months, including tonight.
Leave a Reply