Glasgow Rangers 3-0 Premiership victory over Livingston on the weekend saw them cut the gap to just three points at the top of the league table.
Philippe Clement could lead the Gers level on points with Celtic at the summit should they beat Aberdeen at Ibrox this evening, and it would make for a remarkable turnaround, especially considering the club lost three of their first seven top-flight matches this term.
With a League Cup victory under their belts and progress to the last 16 of the Europa League, Rangers certainly have the ascendancy as they look to end Celtic’s dominance of the Premiership recently.
The Dons will be a stern proposition, especially with the figure of Neil Warnock travelling north to take control of the club until the end of the season.
Clement, therefore, may have to make a few changes to his starting XI for the clash this evening and that could see a few players drop out from the weekend win.
One player who drops to the bench could be Rabbi Matondo, despite his solid showing against Livingston.
Rabbi Matondo will drop to the bench against Aberdeen
The Welsh winger has returned to some sort of form this season following on from a relatively underwhelming campaign in Glasgow during 2022/23.
Much was expected of him following his big-money move from Schalke in the summer of 2022 and the Gers badly needed a creative and pacey winger who could pose a direct goal threat.
Despite the early promise, Matondo only managed to register five assists throughout the whole season, and it looked as though he was on his way out of Ibrox last summer.
He enjoyed a solid pre-season and worked his way into Michael Beale’s plans for the first few weeks of the season, culminating in the 23-year-old scoring his first goal for the club in a Champions League qualifier against PSV Eindhoven.
Since that match, Matondo has scored another two goals along with grabbing a further four assists, and he has proven to be a reliable attacking outlet on the left flank.
Clement started him against Livingston on the weekend and while it was a mixed performance, it did produce a goal and a few glimpses of his undoubted potential.
Rabbi Matondo’s performance vs Livingston in numbers
With Abdallah Sima out for the foreseeable future due to suffering an injury on international duty with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, Matondo has been looked upon to step up to the plate and start producing.
Against Livi, he certainly posed a threat going forward, yet his final ball was often poor, evidenced by the fact he failed to deliver a single accurate cross from three deliveries, and he succeeded with just two of his five attempted dribble attempts.
Matondo’s persistence in trying to beat defenders resulted in him losing possession 17 times during his 61 minutes on the pitch, yet he more than made up for it with a wonderful effort to give Rangers a two-goal advantage.
It was a sublime effort which nestled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, and it proves that he can certainly add something to Clement’s team.
Against the Dons, however, the Belgian may be set to unleash January signing Oscar Cortes, especially as the youngster made his debut on the weekend.
Oscar Cortes could make his first start for Rangers vs Aberdeen
The Colombian signed for the Light Blues towards the end of the transfer window on a loan deal from RC Lens, and it looks as though it could be a shrewd bit of business by the club.
Oscar Cortes’ stats vs Livingston
Touches
25
Accurate crosses
One
Accurate passes
16/19
Key passes
One
Possession lost
Six times
Duels won
0
Stats via Sofascore
While he only had 30 minutes to get into the game, Cortes delivered one accurate cross, made one key pass and took 25 touches, indicating that he was keen on getting into the game as often as possible.
It was a positive debut and the more he plays, the better he will get, especially in front of a packed Ibrox crowd wanting the youngster to showcase his talents.
The 20-year-old may have only made four Ligue 1 appearances for Lens during the first half of the season, yet he scored once and grabbed an assist while averaging just 13 minutes per game in the French top flight.
The £8k-per-week sensation had registered 12 goal contributions – seven goals and five assists – across just 28 games for Millonarios prior to his move to Europe and this is evidence that he can be a goal threat from either out wide or just behind the striker.
With Todd Cantwell and Tom Lawrence battling it out for the number ten slot, it is clear Cortes will be fighting for a place in the side alongside Matondo and Clement could unleash him tonight.
His full range of skills were demonstrated during the U20 World Cup last summer, where he finished the tournament with six goals and assists, which ranked him fourth out of all the players, while he also ranked first in the competition for big chances created (four) and third for key passes per game (3.4) and these figures clearly prove Cortes can generate plenty of chances for his teammates while posing as a goal threat too.
RC Lens podcaster Lucas Colin spoke to the Rangers Review regarding what the Ibrox faithful could expect from Cortes, saying:
“He’s like cold blood, very calm in the box. He can be a player that you can love very quickly”
