Glasgow Rangers head into their final three matches of the Scottish Premiership with the sole aim of building for the forthcoming season, as Michael Beale’s side lick the wounds left by a testing campaign.
A tie against Hibernian this afternoon could allow the Ibrox side to build on a confidence-boosting 3-0 victory over Celtic in their previous match, and it was Beale’s first taste of glory against the club, setting up the title race nicely next season.
The 42-year-old will be naturally buoyed by the performance, and this suggests that the majority of the team will stay the same against Hibs. However, there could be a change in the backline, with Connor Goldson a doubt for the tie as the £37k-per-week star has suffered a knock.
Talking to the media, Beale said: “Connor Goldson is a doubt for the weekend. There are no other fresh injuries."
With Ben Davies struggling recently, especially during his last appearance against Celtic when he failed to safely clear the ball in his own box which eventually to Kyogo Furuhashi scoring, Beale should give Leon King an opportunity to impress at the heart of the defence.
Could Leon King start for Rangers against Hibs?
Due to injuries to John Souttar and Davies at the start of the season, King was a regular alongside Goldson in the defence up until the World Cup hiatus, giving him vital experience in the starting XI.
Across 12 Premiership games, King won 56% of his total duels while losing possession just 5.4 times on average each game, indicating that despite his tender years, he was more than up for the physical battles of Scottish football.
His Champions League experience was slightly more humbling, yet minutes in Europe’s premier club competition will do wonders for his development. He played in all six group stage games, receiving a Sofascore rating of 6.1/10, yet he still managed to win half of his duels and made 1.7 tackles per game – a valiant return considering the nature of the results Rangers endured.
The youngster has featured for just one minute under Beale, finding opportunities hard to come by, although the match today represents an ideal chance to give him a runout.
Former Ibrox academy graduate Alan Hutton has described King as a “big Rolls-Royce” in the past, and there is no doubt this season has been a major learning curve for the 19-year-old.
Gaining some game time over the next week would go a long way to proving that he is more than capable of becoming a first-team regular next term.
