As Rangers prepare to travel to Tannadice to face United, what likely XI will Derek McInnes choose to start the season? Well, the defence clearly picks itself, so there are not really many options in there. There will be no new bodies in place by the time Rangers take to the turf. Therefore, it will be the same defence that started against West Ham.
The Rangers defence picks itself
Ivor Pandur will start in goal. The back four will feature Tuur Rommens, Emmanuel Fernández, Ben Godfrey and Dujon Sterling at right back. If McInnes does not select those five, we will be absolutely staggered.
Midfield is where it gets a little bit more interesting. The amount of depth that Derek McInnes has to choose from in there is staggering. Even the manager admits there are probably one or two too many players in there.
However, the chances of picking the right combination are quite low because of this sheer amount of depth. Nevertheless, we are going to give it a crack.
Vanja Dragojević could make his debut
We think Vanja Dragojević is likely to make his debut at Tannadice alongside Cammy Devlin. If the visa is in on time and Devlin is fit, that is. We cannot really see anybody else starting in there at the moment, but we are open to being wrong. If the clearance isn’t there, Dio might get the nod.
In terms of the wider positions, we know McInnes plays with two wide men. Well, clearly it is not going to be Oliver Antman anymore.
Djeidi Gassama remains on Rangers’ roster, but Rangers have no other wingers aside from the adaptable Findlay Curtis. Unfortunately, Curtis has not enjoyed the best preseason and has not exactly sparkled, but there is still time.
Tannadice would be a heck of a place to start showing that he is up to the shirt.
Lawrence Shankland leads the attack
Up front, well, it has to be Shankland starting. Lawrence Shankland, named the new captain, will probably start pretty much every match now.
We would also be very surprised if Youssef Chermiti did not partner him. Ryan Naderi has not been terribly impressive during preseason.
However, there are dozens and dozens of players that we have not even mentioned. Could Thelo Aasgaard travel? Could he play? Probably not. Given the potential injury.
Nico Raskin will play no part. We already know that. He is unlikely to feature for this club again.
There are many, many more players, including the likes of Connor Barron and Lyall Cameron. McInnes could call upon plenty of other players as well.
Can this Rangers team win?
Picking your XI at the moment is not the easiest thing to do, especially when it comes to midfield. The defence picks itself and, frankly, so does the attack.
However, the wings and midfield are a bit trickier. Nevertheless, we think that we have probably got it in the ballpark.
Pandur; Sterling, Godfrey, Fernandez, Rommens; Dragojevic, Devlin; Dio, Curtis; Chermiti, Shankland
Will that team win? Time will tell.
We know that Jim Goodwin will do everything he can to get the points at home. McInnes would love to get off to a good start as Rangers manager. We would love him to do the same.
Here is hoping that we can get the three points and get our title push off to a solid start.