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Rangers v. Falkirk Prematch Analysis Saturday, 30 January 2010 16:50 Written by Nvager

Rangers versus Falkirk at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday January 30th., 2010. Kick-off 3:00 PM.

After a good midweek result Rangers find themselves still at the top of the SPL and with a 10 point lead over Celtic.

Rangers have 51 points from 22 games and a goal difference of +37.

Celtic have 41 points from 21 games and a goal difference of +20.

Our opponents Falkirk have 14 points from 20 games, but have recently drawn with Celtic both home and away so this team should not be taken lightly.

It is a great feeling to have such a lead, but if Celtic win their game in hand vs Kilmarnock the lead will only be 7 points and we have still to play Celtic twice before the end of the season. We need to win all our games and keep the pressure on Celtic.

We have been hit by injuries and quite a few players are currently not quite match fit. Even players who have been in the team for a few weeks now are still struggling after injury. I would say that these players include Broadfoot, Thomson, Mendes, Edu, Beasley, Naismith, Novo, Miller and Boyd. Lafferty has also been affected and Bougherra is absent due to international duties with Algeria. (He played his last game today it appears.)

This leaves us in a dangerous situation. Miller is struggling to be fit to play on Saturday. Boyd is out injured. That is a huge loss in terms of potential goals not being scored.

Beasley may be back this weekend but it is not certain as he has been expected back before now. We need pace on the wing and Davis in central midfield. Thomson and McCulloch do not do well in midfield and Whittaker is no winger. Edu and Mendes need games to sharpen up, but points are precious and they are not yet match fit.

Walter could fit them in late in games if we had a 2 goal lead, but that is not happening.

If Beasley is not fit this weekend then I would play Wylde at left winger as he has pace and showed promise last time out, but Walter may well play Naismith or a more senior player like Whittaker in his place.

My best guess is that Beasley will not start this weekend. He may make the bench. I doubt too that Bougherra will return in time for Saturday even though he (and Algeria) was eliminated today.

Walter may play this team: McGregor, Broadfoot, Weir, Wilson, Papac, Novo, Davis, McCulloch, Whittaker/Fleck, Lafferty, Miller/Naismith.

Falkirk have in the past made life difficult for us and I can see another struggle. We should though win in the end, but we may struggle to score if Miller is missing . Lafferty has a lot to prove so let's hope he comes up big on Saturday. Lafferty also needs to watch out on the number of yellow cards he is accumulating too.

I would also consider playing McCulloch up front. Against St. Mirren he looked as dangerous as anyone going through the middle. Naismith too is best as a striker. My big worry is getting playing time for the players just back from injury like Edu, Mendes, Naismith, Beasley and younger players like Fleck, Wylde, Ness etc. They need game time and Walter must know this. It is difficult to do this as a win is the only acceptable result.

It will be a hard fought game as Falkirk are fighting for survival and have taken points off Celtic recently at Parkhead. Nevertheless we should win at home and my prediction is Rangers 2 - 0 Falkirk.

We will know the Celtic result before the start of the game. As they play Hamilton, I would think that Celtic would win, but let's hope not. The main thing is that we win at Ibrox and this will be not be as easy as some may think.

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