Philippe Clement axes Todd Cantwell, Fabio Silva decision made – Rangers predicted XI v Kilmarnock

For Tuesday’s match at Ibrox against Kilmarnock, Philippe Clement may make three changes to his starting lineup for the Rangers.

Clement suffered defeat for the first time as Rangers boss on Saturday (30 December) as Celtic ran out 2-1 victors in a blockbuster clash at Celtic Park.

Goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi before a tremendous James Tavernier free-kick ensured Brendan Rodgers’ men go eight points clear at the top, but the Gers still have two games in hand over their rivals.

When the Gers play Kilmarnock, who are now in fourth position, at Ibrox on Tuesday, January 2, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways. Clement may decide to bench Todd Cantwell, a Michael Beale signing, in favor of Kieran Dowell.

As the seldom-seen Robby McCrorie waits for his opportunity under the Belgian, Jack Butland will surely start in goal.

After showing incredible form in recent weeks and providing his colleague with a tiny lifeline against Celtic with a beautiful free-kick, captain James Tavernier will be expected to maintain his position at right-back.

Important player Conor Goldson will be disappointed with his performance against the Hoops on Saturday, but his knowledge and experience will come in handy once more.

Along with Goldson, Leon Balogun also received a red card in the Old Firm match, and after a terrible individual performance, he might have faced the axe even if he hadn’t received it.

At left-back, Borna Barisic missed the game through injury and there’s been no update on whether he would likely return against the Killies so Ridvan Yilmaz could continue.

In midfield, John Lundstram returned from injury to start the Old Firm and looked his usual self with an assured display despite the defeat before being chalked off after 77 minutes, a decision to leave him fresh for Tuesday.

Alongside him in midfield, Dujon Sterling was arguably the best Rangers player on the pitch at Celtic Park so deserves to keep his place in midfield at the expense of Jose Cifuentes who may be overlooked again.

Both Ryan Jack and Nicolas Raskin are still sidelined, though the latter posted on social media on New Year’s Day indicating that he would return shortly.

Attacking coach Clement would be forced to make a move, and Cantwell might be benched in favor of Kieran Dowell following a very poor performance against Celtic, where he only won 33% of his ground duels and failed to record a single crucial pass despite getting into incredibly good areas [SofaScore].

Dowell should replace Cantwell to slot in at number ten and will have been disappointed to lose his place against Celtic after bagging his first Rangers goal in the 2-0 win over Motherwell.

On the wings, Abdallah Sima has been called up to the Senegal squad (31 December) for the African Cup of Nations this month so may not be available for the game on Tuesday in what will be a considerable blow for Clement.

Rabbi Matondo, who watched on from the bench on Saturday, could replace the 14-goal forward in a huge opportunity for the forgotten attacker.

Ross McCausland impressed against Celtic so is likely to continue at right-wing but Clement has a decision to make on Cyriel Dessers.

The summer signing was wasteful against Celtic and certainly let the occasion get the better of him.

New signing Fabio Silva will be gearing up for a start but his limited minutes this season means he could start from the bench with Dessers kept on upfront.

Kemar Roofe and Danilo are still out injured while Sam Lammers has so far failed to prove he deserves starts when handed the opportunity.

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