A Covid outbreak, poor form and return of star man - what can Rangers expect from Hibs?

It’s been a dramatic international break for the Light Blues with the departure of Steven Gerrard and his coaching team to Aston Villa and the arrival of former Gers star Giovanni van Bronckhorst as his replacement.

The Dutchman won’t be in the dugout at the National Stadium with the responsibility placed upon B team coaches Brian Gilmour and David McCallum as well as Jermain Defoe and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.

As much as it’s a new era for Rangers, what can we expect from Jack Ross’ Hibs side?

Well prior to the meeting at Ibrox earlier in the campaign, the Hibees started the season brightly, taking 15 points from their opening seven games and were unbeaten up until their trip to Govan.

The Premiership champions came from behind, as they have done on numerous occasions this term, to prevail by two goals to one thanks to Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos headers.

That defeat on the 3rd of October sparked a run of four successive losses with just one goal scored in their last three matches.

A Covid outbreak has swept through their squad meaning they haven’t played a match in the month of November as yet.

Their scheduled matches against Ross County and Livingston were cancelled as they were unable to field a team.

READ MORE: Reigniting Morelos, a Goldson dilemma and the Patterson conundrum - Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers inbox

In their most recent Premiership clash with Celtic at Easter Road, the Leith side were soundly beaten by Ange Postecoglu’s men as the stats below highlight.

The graphic shows Hibernian’s pressures against the Parkhead club and as we can see, they rarely imposed themselves onto Celtic’s backline.

Speaking afterwards following the 3-1 defeat, Ross shouldered the blame and urged their supporters not to get on the players' backs.

“Criticism comes in the wake of poor runs. But it should be directed at me by supporters,” he pleaded.

“It’s my team, my preparations, my selection. The players need their support. Give them that backing. Because they need that and deserve it.”

It’s clear Hibs are coming into Sunday’s match in poor form, however Rangers cannot afford to underestimate the challenge they could pose.

READ MORE: Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers plan: Full-backs defending, wingers playing wide and strikers grabbing goals

The Light Blues cup record is deplorable and it’s simply imperative they improve on their recent showings. The last time they lifted the League Cup trophy aloft was over a decade ago and for a club the size of Rangers, despite their years in the lower leagues, it’s not good enough.

Player wise, you immediately think the danger men will consist of Kevin Nisbet, who netted the opener at Ibrox last month, Martin Boyle and the returning Christian Doidge. The Welshman has netted twice in the league this season with both goals coming back in August before an Achilles injury and Covid saw him sidelined. The return of Doidge, fresh from signing a new deal, will be a huge boost for Jack Ross and expect to see him lead the line.

Nisbet has only found the back of the net twice himself this season, although his goal at Ibrox should send a warning to the Rangers rearguard that he will be a danger.

Boyle meanwhile, has 11 goals to his name in all competitions and, as the graphic shows below, will likely adopt a position on the right-hand side of the Hibs attack, looking to cut inside. It’ll therefore be up to either Calvin Bassey or Borna Barisic to keep an eye on the Australian international at all times.

Interestingly, it’s not just the Hibs front three Rangers should be wary of, as we can see in the chart below, midfielder Kyle Magennis is the most potent threat in terms of xG.

The 23-year-old missed the defeat to Celtic through injury but should return on Sunday. It will be up to the likes of Steven Davis and Glen Kamara to make sure they prevent him from causing any real damage in the final third.

In terms of playing style, expect Hibs to soak up pressure and try to hit Rangers on the counter as we can see in the graph below.

Hibs supporter Craig Nisbet believes the potential return of Christian Doidge has given supporters a lift heading into the game.

He said: “He’s a massive player.

“Having Christian to come off the bench or even to start a game alongside Kevin Nisbet, gives us a whole new dynamic. I certainly think Nisbet performs better when Doidge is there and I think if Doidge is on the bench and comes on because Hibs tend to get the ball into the wider areas and get crosses in, he’s a great aerial threat and we have missed him a lot.

“Kevin Nisbet’s form hasn’t been particularly great and the fans have been getting quite frustrated.

“There’s been a lot of expectation placed on his shoulders so I think he’ll be relieved as anyone to see Christian back in.”

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Nisbet expects the Easter Road side to soak up pressure and try to hit Rangers on the counter.

“That’s the approach that’s served us quite well against Rangers in the past,” he said.

“Hibs are a counter-attacking team, away from home it usually stands us in good stead. The trouble we’re having is at home where there’s an expectation on us on having the ball and dominating and trying to break teams down.

“It’ll be interesting to see the guys who had Covid if they’ll be involved but I can certainly see us setting up similar to how we played at Ibrox, hopefully sitting in and looking to counter.

“However, in that first half against Rangers we actually pressed quite effectively just around the halfway line and we were able to try and nick the ball and get fouls and that’s how the build-up led to our goal.

“Being at Hampden on that big pitch, I get the feeling he will sit back and we will try and counter-attack but he might be in two minds with how we played in that first half against Rangers.”

Nisbet expects a refreshed and re-energised Hibs on Sunday following their extended break due to Covid.

“I’m not going to say that Covid has been a bit of a blessing in terms of the run we were on but now we can see that Christian Doidge is back within the squad and before the Ross County game Jack Ross said that Kyle Magennis would be back during the international break which is a massive thing for us.

“So going into Sunday I actually feel that we may well be in a stronger position in terms of fitness and health than we were before.

“It’s a strange feeling. Up until the Covid situation, fans were pretty doom and gloom. A lot of people suggesting that Jack Ross potentially moving on or not being happy with the football and then obviously this break has happened and we’ve had the international break also so I don’t know if that’s mellowed a lot of fans.

“Looking at the game on Sunday, with Gerrard away, you don’t know how Rangers will be feeling. Hibs have got players coming back in fit and with the good news of Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson re-signing, Doidge signing a new deal, hopefully, Magennis will be back in so I do feel like there’s a bit more optimism going into the game.”