IT was in the semi-finals of the League Cup last November where Giovanni van Bronckhorst had a watching brief as Rangers succumbed to a dismal 3-1 defeat to Hibernian at Hampden on the eve of the Dutchman’s first day in charge.

Fast forward nine months and the Gers boss has a Scottish Cup winners’ medal to his name, a Europa League final appearance, and qualification to the group stages of the Champions League secured.

A crucial Old Firm clash with Celtic looms on the horizon this weekend, but here are three burning issues ahead of the tonight’s visit from the Doonhamers in the League Cup.

Ridvan Yilmaz’s audition

The Turkish international last featured for Rangers on August 6th in the 2-0 home win over Kilmarnock, failing to play even a single minute in the Gers’ last six outings in all competitions.

Borna Barisic’s individual performances have certainly improved in the meantime, but it is curious that van Bronckhorst has completely overlooked Yilmaz as the 21-year-old aims to get up to speed. The former Besiktas man represents one of Rangers’ big money signings this summer with a reported £3.4m paid to the Turkish outfit for his services.

The visit of League One opposition should provide Yilmaz with the platform to showcase his ability, with Rangers likely to completely monopolise the ball. His home debut against Kilmarnock earlier this month proved a difficult afternoon, but he will be better for the experience as he aims to nail down a permanent place in the starting XI going forward.

Will we see the highly-rated Zak Lovelace?

At only 16-years-old, Lovelace’s name has dominated discussions around the Rangers B Team this season.

The former Millwall forward featured in the English Championship last season and his goal record at Lowland League level this season since arriving in Glasgow suggests that his qualities belong at a higher level.

In that respect, a clash against League One opposition could be a greater test of Lovelace’s credentials. It seems unlikely that van Bronckhorst will start with the Englishman from the off, but he could play significant minutes if Rangers build a head of steam quickly in the game.

Lovelace has played through the middle at B Team level, but he is also comfortable operating from the sides where he can leverage his supreme close control and strength on the ball. Van Bronckhorst will be keen to wrap the likes of Antonio Colak and Ryan Kent in cotton wool ahead of Saturday’s trip across the city and, as a result, the Ibrox crowd could see their first glimpse of the exciting young talent.

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Where is Fashion Sakala positioned in van Bronckhorst’s plans?

The Zambian stated publicly last month that he was looking forward to a sit-down with the Rangers boss to establish exactly where he stood in the squad. Over a month has passed and, after yet another domestic outing at the weekend where he failed to get off the bench, we are no further along in gaining an understand.

After a strong end to the domestic campaign last season, Sakala’s only minutes this term came in stoppage time as Rangers looked to run down the clock in their 1-0 win over PSV last week. The side have racked up 4-0 scorelines at home against both St. Johnstone and Ross County in recent weeks yet the Zambian hasn’t been deemed worthy enough of a single substitute appearance.

There was reported interest in Sakala from Vincent Kompany’s Burnley over the summer – whether there was a formal approach is unclear – and it raises the question as to whether Rangers would be better off cashing in on a player they secured on a free, especially with only days remaining in the transfer window.

Whether the Zambian starts from the off this evening will go a long way in telling us how those conversations went with van Bronckhorst.