Imagine him & Cerny: Clement must unleash 27k-p/w Rangers star

Glasgow Rangers have a huge game in the Scottish Premiership this evening as they prepare to travel away from Ibrox to take on Aberdeen.

The Light Blues are currently six points behind the Dons in the table and have the chance to half that gap by collecting all three points on their travels tonight.

Aberdeen and Celtic are both sat on 25 points in the top-flight, with eight wins and one draw apiece, whilst Rangers are lagging behind on 19 points, having already lost twice in the division.

Philippe Clement needs his team to pull a top-class performance out to cut the gap and move closer to the top of the table to ensure that they do not drift away in the title race.

A defeat would already see them go nine points behind the Dons, and possibly Celtic if they win their match, which would be a sizeable points tally to overturn in the coming months.

Rangers are looking to win back-to-back matches in the Premiership after they picked up a 2-1 win against St Mirren at Ibrox last time out in the division, thanks to another strong performance from man-of-the-moment Vaclav Cerny.

Vaclav Cerny’s recent form for Rangers

The Czechia international was signed on loan from Wolfsburg during the summer transfer window and has had an interesting time in Glasgow so far.

He produced one goal and two assists in his first six appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, which was a promising start to life with the Light Blues.

However, the winger then went on a run of five matches without a goal or an assist to show for his efforts, a run in which Cerny appeared to snap back at some supporters during a game against Hibernian – after a section of the crowd hit out at some of his decisions on the ball.

The left-footed ace, though, did not let that affect him and he appears to be back at his best, with five goals and one assist in his last four games in all competitions.

Cerny registered braces against Kilmarnock and FCSB in the Premiership and the Europa League, and scored the winning goal against St Mirren last time out in the league.

Rangers will need the winger to be at his best to get the better of the Dons, who are yet to lose in the league, and will need the striker alongside him to carry their weight as well, which is why Hamza Igamane may be dropped from the starting XI for this game.

Hamza Igamane’s performance against St Mirren in numbers

The 21-year-old centre-forward was handed a huge chance to showcase his quality from the start in the win over St Mirren last time out in the Premiership.

He had come off the bench to score against FCSB on Thursday night in the Europa League, brilliantly finding the bottom corner with a composed finish, and Clement rewarded that with a starting spot on Sunday.

A game against St Mirren at Ibrox in the league was a fantastic opportunity for Igamane to prove to Clement that he has what it takes to be starting week-in-week-out for the Gers, and that he can be the go-to guy for goals this season.

Unfortunately, Igamane did not grasp his chance to make a statement to the home supporters and failed to build on his promising cameo against FCSB in Europe.

As you can see in the table above, the Morocco U23 international struggled badly in the opening 45 minutes of the match before being withdrawn by Clement.

The former FAR Rabat centre-forward failed to register a single effort on goal and did not create any ‘big chances’ for his teammates, which illustrates his lack of impact in the final third.

He also proved to be a liability out of possession for the Gers, losing all seven of his duels against opposition defenders, and these statistics do not suggest that he is the best option to lead the line against an in-form Aberdeen side.

Therefore, Clement must ruthlessly ditch Igamane from the starting XI in order to unleash Cyriel Dessers alongside Cerny as part of the front three this evening.

Why Cyriel Dessers should start

The Nigerian striker has had his fair share of criticism throughout his time at Ibrox and some of it has been justified, as his finishing has left a lot to be desired.

Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, Dessers has missed a staggering 33 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership for the Light Blues, since Michael Beale signed him from Cremonese in the summer of 2023.

This shows that the 29-year-old forward is far from a lethal marksman who is likely to take the majority of the chances that fall his way in the box.

What you cannot fault Dessers for, however, is his movement in the box and his ability to generate high-quality openings for himself in front of goal, either with his own play or by moving to make angles for his teammates to pass to him.

The former Serie A attacker has still scored 19 goals in the division since the start of last season, despite missing 33 ‘big chances’, and that speaks to the quantity and quality of chances that he gets in front of goal.

As you can see in the table above, the £27k-per-week ace may not always take advantage of the chances that come his way but he is always a threat in front of goal.

Dessers, who Clement claimed has a “big heart”, has produced six goals and ‘big chances’ created in nine appearances in the division and averages two shots per game, which shows that the striker is always involved.

Therefore, the manager should unleash the experienced attacker from the start ahead of the inexperienced Igamane, as he may have a better chance of causing Aberdeen problems alongside Cerny.