Glasgow Rangers take to the field in the Europa League for the first time this season as they travel away to face Malmo away from Ibrox this evening.
The Light Blues are in the competition after they lost to Dynamo Kyiv on aggregate in their Champions League qualifier, and now have their first of eight matches in the league phase today.
Philippe Clement’s side come into this clash with the Swedish outfit off the back of a 3-0 win over Dundee in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Saturday.
The Belgian manager should make at least one change to his starting XI from that victory, as Dujon Sterling should be ruthlessly ditched from the line-up.
Why Dujon Sterling should be dropped
The former Chelsea prospect was handed a chance to shine in the middle of the park alongside Connor Barron and failed to make the most of his opportunity, as he was subbed off at half-time.
RangersNews awarded him a player rating of 4/10 and criticised his lack of impact and physicality in midfield, which has also been the case in the Scottish Premiership.
The versatile 24-year-old has made four appearances in the top-flight so far this season for the Gers, but has struggled in and out of possession in Clement’s side.
On the ball, Sterling has contributed zero goals, zero assists, zero ‘big chances’ created, and zero key passes. He has also lost 56% of his duels, which suggests that opposition players have found it too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.
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Therefore, Clement should ruthlessly ditch the Englishman from the starting XI for this Europa League clash with Malmo, and unleash Mohamed Diomande instead.
Why Mohamed Diomande should start
The Ivorian dynamo, who replaced Sterling at half-time on Saturday, should come back into the line-up for this game because of the quality he can provide in the middle of the park.
Signed on a permanent deal from Nordsjælland in the summer transfer window, Diomande is a creative midfield player who has the ability to unlock the Malmo defence – based on his form in the Premiership this term.
The 22-year-old, who was described as “absolutely fantastic” by former boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, has taken a step forward in the division this season, after his initial loan spell at Ibrox in the 2023/24 campaign – in terms of his creativity.
Appearances
13
5
Starts
11
4
Goals
2
0
Big chances created
1
3
Assists
0
1
Key passes per game
1.5
1.0
As you can see in the table above, Diomande has already created three ‘big chances’ for his teammates in four starts, after only creating one in 11 starts last term.
The left-footed star has also made 1.6 tackles per game and won 51% of his ground duels in the league, which shows that he can handle himself out of possession.
Rangers may need him to be at his defensive and creative best in midfield to secure all three points in this European away match, and that is why Clement must unleash him ahead of the underperforming Sterling tonight.
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