Glasgow Rangers have four Premiership matches remaining of the 2023/24 campaign, needing to win them all while hoping Celtic slip up along the way.
With the final Old Firm clash taking place at Parkhead, the odds are against the Light Blues, but it is clear Philippe Clement will push his team to the limit.
Firstly, the Light Blues face Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon in what is a must-win match for the club.
Clement delivered an injury update in his pre-match press conference on Friday, saying Oscar Cortes and Danilo won't play again this season, while Connor Goldson suffered an injury during training in midweek, also ruling him out for the season.
The Belgian did give a positive update on Ridvan Yilmaz, claiming that he was a “maybe” for Sunday. Hopefully, the Turkish defender can return to the starting XI as the Gers have missed his presence on the left side of the defence.
With this news in mind, here's a look at the starting XI that could take to the Ibrox pitch on Sunday afternoon.
1 GK – Jack Butland
The Englishman picked up both the Men’s Player’s Player of the Year and Men’s Player of the Year awards last week in the annual Rangers award ceremony, signifying how vital he has been this season.
Across 53 games in all competitions, Butland has kept 25 clean sheets and conceded 44 goals. Another few between now and the end of the season could give the club a great chance of adding another trophy or two to the cabinet.
2 RB – James Tavernier
Despite there being five games left of the season, Tavernier picked up the Sam English bowl, which is awarded to the club’s top scorer.
The captain has scored 24 times already this term, which is his best-ever career total during a single campaign.
3 CB – John Souttar
The centre-back has started every single Premiership match of 2024 thus far and due to Goldson suffering a season-ending injury, he will be in the starting XI for the final five games of the season.
Following an injury-disrupted debut season in Glasgow, Souttar has shown his class under Clement, emerging as one of the first names on the team sheet in recent months.
4 CB – Leon Balogun
The Nigerian defender is out of contract at the end of the season, but it looks as though contract talks will be placed on hold until after the Scottish Cup final.
He returned to the starting XI against Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final recently, as Goldson was surprisingly dropped, but the duo of him and Souttar will be the backbone in the remaining games.
5 LB – Ridvan Yilmaz
Borna Barisic will be dropped from the starting XI, as it feels like even a half-fit Yilmaz would be a better option.
The Turk has been missing since returning from international duty with a hamstring injury, but if he is ready to go, then Clement should unleash him from the start against Killie.
The £5m signing in 2022 has shown plenty of class under the Belgian and could be an important player next season, if he stays fit, that is.
6 CM – Mohamed Diomande
Although technically just at the club on loan right now, Diomande will officially join the Light Blues on a permanent deal in the summer.
At 22 years old, he represents the type of player which Clement will be hoping to add more of this summer; young, limitless potential and the chance of selling them on for massive profits.
His control of the game could be crucial against Killie.
7 CM – John Lundstram
Another player who is out of contract in a few weeks, Lundstram might well be coming to the end of his spell in Glasgow as no talks have commenced.
He has missed just one game since Clement arrived, a 2-0 win over Motherwell on Christmas Eve, but his influence has waned in recent weeks.
8 RW – Ross McCausland
The young winger’s previous league start came against Killie coincidently back in February, but he should be unleashed on Sunday.
The Northern Irishman has plenty of work to do in order to make himself a regular in the first team, but the more often he plays, the better he will get.
Two goals and three assists aren’t the greatest of returns, something which McCausland will be hoping to add to over the next few weeks.
9 AM – Todd Cantwell
The 26-year-old has endured plenty of highs and lows this term. The attacking midfielder has missed 13 games due to injury, but he has scored six times while registering six assists across all competitions this season.
Against St Mirren, Cantwell made one key pass, attempted four shots, succeeded with 100% of his dribbles and took 52 touches as he looked keen to make things happen for the Light Blues in their eventual 2-1 win.
10 LW – Dujon Sterling
The utility man might be called upon to feature on the left wing due to Clement’s injury issues in that position.
The Englishman has played on the right wing a few times this season, which means a stint on the opposite flank shouldn’t faze him too much, especially as he knows it isn’t a permanent move.
Sterling will give 100% commitment to the cause regardless of where he plays and this will show during the clash against Killie.
