Glasgow Rangers will be aiming for nine points from their last three matches of the Scottish Premiership season in order to end the campaign on a high note.
Michael Beale’s side showed exactly what they can do if every member of the squad is pulling in the same direction during their Old Firm triumph at Ibrox last weekend, and an away trip to Easter Road to take on Hibernian this afternoon could allow the manager to experiment with the line-up slightly.
Beale will have to make a few decisions on his starting XI, and one of them should be unleashing Ianis Hagi from the first whistle, and having scored twice and grabbed an assist against Hibs in eight previous matches, he could cause havoc again.
Could Ianis Hagi start for Rangers against Hibs?
The £21k-per-week gem has not long returned to the squad following a year-long layoff due to an injury suffered in the Scottish Cup last year, and Beale has slowly reinstated him into the first team.
If Hagi can return to the form he displayed during the 2020/21 campaign, Beale will have a real star on his hands. Across 45 matches during that title-winning season, the Romanian scored eight goals and registered 15 assists – with 15 of these contributions coming in the league as the Gers strolled to success.
The Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie was full of praise for Hagi, lauding him as “impressive” while praising his ability to “split” teams open with his wide range of passing and creative talents.
Although perhaps not yet at his best since returning to the first-team fold, the 24-year-old has managed to succeed with 83% of his attempted dribbles and win 71% of his total duels across his six league appearances this term, and as his fitness improves, he will continue to get better and hopefully return to the form he showed pre-injury.
Should the manager be looking to take someone out of the firing line then the man Hagi replaced in the win over Celtic, Rabbi Matondo, could be a good bet.
He has shown flashes of brilliance this term, albeit in limited spells, and was dragged off with 20 minutes remaining of that Old Firm tie having made just five passes in the entire game, a damning indictment of his qualities.
Beale must unleash him today in order to allow him to showcase his talents, and he could well run Hibs' defence ragged.