***PreMatch Analysis***

[nvager 498]

Rangers vs Falkirk, Scottish Co-op Cup Semi Final, Tuesday January 27th., 2009 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Kick Off 7:45 PM

A chance to reach a Cup Final and to defend one of the two trophies we won last season.

This is a big game against a Falkirk side that gave us trouble at Ibrox recently. Will we have a real go? Will we play two up front? Will we come out flying and play at a good pace or will we stroll about the pitch as we have been doing recently? Make no mistake Falkirk felt they were robbed last time at Ibrox and will be out for revenge.

This is an important game and I do not believe Walter will experiment too much. However after Saturday's team selection I am not sure what team Walter will play.

Will he play with a similar formation to Saturday with a holding midfielder and one up front? I suspect not as Falkirk will likely do that and there would be no point. So I will be shocked if we do not play two up front.

In defence will he give Whittaker a game or stick to our normal defence as Papac is nearing a suspension? I am not sure with the Dundee United and Celtic games coming up. Will Fleck be retained for three games in a row? My guess is no. I believe Naismith/McCulloch/Adam will start at left mid. Perhaps Beasley. Up front, will Miller continue despite a lack of any form? I hope not.

If Edu and Lafferty are fit - and I believe only Lafferty may be - will one or both be a contender for a start?

I really think Walter will play it safe. I expect few changes.

I think Walter may play this team:

McGregor, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Weir, Whittaker, Davis, Mendes, Ferguson, Naismith, Novo, Boyd.

I would like to see Ferguson dropped and Aaron given a chance on the wing with Davis moving into the centre of midfield, but I cannot see Walter dropping Ferguson.

As I stated earlier this will be a hard game. This is a huge game for Falkirk and they WILL be up for it. Will our players have the same determination? Will they come out flying? I hope so, but it has been a long while.

If we start like we finished the Aberdeen game we will win by three goals, but if we start like we have done recently in the games against St. Johnstone and Falkirk we will make life hard for ourselves. Either way we should win this game. A defeat is just unthinkable.

My prediction is Rangers 3-0 Falkirk, with Boyd (2) and Novo being the scorers.

We cannot afford not to play well as we need all our confidence going into the next two games.

[Jardy 0]

i would rest fleck and start with naismith.