Glasgow Rangers turn their attention back to Premiership action this weekend as they host Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday.
The Light Blues are without a win in their last two matches in all competitions and should be looking to return to winning ways on their own turf.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men head into the game off the back of a 3-0 defeat in Italy to Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
It was a rough night in Naples for the Gers and the Dutch head coach may look to make some changes to his starting XI in order to come away with all three points against Aberdeen.
One player he must bring back into the XI after leaving him on the bench in Europe is right winger Rabbi Matondo. The Welsh international should be unleashed this weekend ahead of Scottish forward Scott Wright.
Van Bronckhorst selected Wright against Napoli and then substituted him at half-time after the attacker lost half of his individual duels and ceded possession six times from 20 touches in the first half.
Should Rabbi Matondo start?
Yes
No
In the Premiership, the former Aberdeen man produced one assist and failed to score a single goal in seven appearances for Rangers this season, whilst also failing to create a single big chance.
The 25-year-old has not been able to provide a consistent threat from out wide in the Scottish top flight. Whereas, Matondo has proven that he can regularly deliver quality service into the box from the right wing.
Former Wales boss Ryan Giggs once described the gem as “electrifying” and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola previously dubbed him “incredibly fast“, which provides an insight into the threat he can offer in the wide areas by using his pace to go past players.
The £12k-per-week forward has racked up three assists in five Premiership starts this season. He has also created three big chances and averaged 1.1 key passes per game, which shows that he is creating a high volume of quality opportunities for his teammates when he is getting on the pitch,
Matondo, who scored nine goals and created four big chances in 23 starts for Cercle Brugge in the Belgian top-flight in 2021/22, has the quality to be a difference-maker at the top end for the Gers. He has shown that he has more to offer out wide than Wright does and that is why van Bronckhorst should unleash him from the start against Aberdeen.
