RANGERS head along the M8 to Paisley this lunchtime as they look to get back to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership against in-form St Mirren.
The Light Blues will be hoping Thursday's Europa League victory over Brondby can act as a springboard to what has been a stuttering season so far.
Derek Clark analyses the three big issues ahead of the game.
Will Sakala replace misfiring Morelos?
The Colombian is struggling for form and was hooked midway through the second half in Rangers Europa League win over Brondby on Thursday night.
He’s only netted two goals in the Premiership this campaign and Steven Gerrard has said the fact he’s on the cusp of netting his 100th career goal may be playing on his mind.
In his pre-St Mirren press conference Gerrard said: “He’s been fantastic for me in terms of his goal return since day one.
“He’s played at a consistent level more often than not and I think we’ve given him the support and the information and development.
“We’ve tried to make him more mature as a person. There have been a lot of man-hours that have gone into Alfredo Morelos, a lot of support.
“The relationship is strong and we’ll try and get him back into that place as soon as we can.
“When he’s there everyone knows he scores goals consistently. That gives us a better chance of being successful.
“But we have 26/27 players here and I think it’s important to speak about them too. A lot of them have been very consistent for me.”
He’s clearly a player Gerrard thinks very highly of and is someone he’ll be desperate to see get back to his best for the good of himself but more importantly the team.
Fashion Sakala came on for El Buffalo in midweek and looked bright although he squandered a chance when through on goal. But many supporters feel the Zambian is worth a run in the team given Morelos’ poor form and it’s certainly a decision you’d imagine Steven Gerrard will be deliberating over.
Will Leon Balogun play?
The big Nigerian limped off during Thursday’s win over Brondby with an apparent hamstring issue.
It led to Steven Gerrard saying he would be praying for a speedy recovery. Well, it appears the injury is not as bad as first feared.
Speaking on Friday, Gerrard said: “Leon’s form has been fantastic. Listen, he is a top international footballer with good experience.
"He’s played at a good level and was a really important signing for us.
“Obviously with the injury to Fil (Helander), you always like to try and keep a level of consistency in your centre back partnership.
“So he’s stood up really well. We’ll give him every chance for the weekend, he’s not ruled out just yet. He’s still a doubt.
"We’ll assess him as the day goes on and we’ll try and get him recovered.
"I’d still say he’s got an outside chance for the weekend but we also have to analyse the risk.
“So we’ll make a really late decision on that one but it’s probably 50-50 where we stand now.”
This is welcome news to the coaching staff and Rangers fans alike, from fearing he may be ruled out for weeks, it now appears that he could feature in Paisley. That being said, don’t be surprised to see Jack Simpson return alongside Connor Goldson if it’s deemed too much of a risk to play him. With Aberdeen on the horizon on Wednesday, we may see some squad rotation.
How are St Mirren doing?
Very well. Jim Goodwin’s men have won their last three matches and are unbeaten in six following their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Celtic.
The Buddies occupy 7th in the Premiership table and a victory over the Light Blues could see them climb to 5th.
You only have to go back to last season to know how dangerous they can be as they knocked Rangers out of the League Cup.
That being said, they are ropey at the back and concede an average of two goals per game so Rangers will fancy their chances of breaching their backline.
