Rangers legend Mark Hateley reckons Alfredo Morelos must start in Antonio Colak’s position if Rangers are to have any chance of overcoming Celtic today and that Fashion Sakala must be in the XI too.
The former Ibrox striker, speaking to Ibrox Noise and Bettingsites.co.uk, suggested the Colombian is by far the first choice for this type of match, given his nuisance-making and general play style.
He said:
“Alfredo Morelos has to play up front for Rangers. He brings a lot to the game outside of the box – a lot more than Colak – and he has the experience of this fixture. Morelos has also shown he can play against good defenders in good teams. He has the equipment to deal with it. I would like to see him pin defenders a bit more and get them half-turned. The other aspect is that Morelos is out of contract this summer so if he is leaving and wants to find a good club, this is the stage he must perform on.”
And on Sakala he added:
“I would play Fashion Sakala. He has hurt Celtic and caused them problems in three of the last four meetings. He set up the two Rangers goals in the 2-2 draw in January, he scored at Parkhead last May and it was his persistence that gave Rangers the winner in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final. He plays at such a pace. Everything he does is quick, he is direct and he is a handful. I think there is even more to come from Fashion because he needs a little more composure in front of goal and he needs to mix his game a little bit. All defenders are worried about facing guys with pace. He will try to get in behind and defenders hate to be turned and having to run back to their own goal.”
He’s correct on both counts – we love Colak but we’re not sure this is the right match for him at all – he doesn’t have the ‘nuisance’ factor that Morelos does, but equally, he’s a lot less likely to be sent off as well…
As for Sakala, we’ve strongly advocated him starting this one – he’s hyped himself up as much as anyone, and seems very confident. He’s also in blistering form so it would be nice to see that happen in an Old Firm.
We’ll see.