The key tactics Hibs can deploy to spring a shock on Rangers

Sunday's tie at Easter Road is among the pick of the quarter-final encounters, but even with recent improved form, Nick Montgomery's side remain underdogs in their quest to reach the national stadium once more. Rangers manager Philippe Clement has enjoyed 4-0 and 3-0 victories in his two matches against Hibs so far this season, and it will take vast improvement on those fixtures for Montgomery's team to progress.

Here, we analyse how Hibs can make it a cup tie to remember.

Starting aggressively

In our interview with the manager earlier this week, Montgomery declared 'bravery' as one of the key traits he wants to instil in Hibs, and it will be required in abundance if they are to progress to a Hampden semi-final. Courage in possession, of course, but also in how they get after Rangers. The foundations for Motherwell's victory at Ibrox last week were built on being brave out of possession - Stuart Kettlewell's side started aggressively in the opening minutes to succeed in unsettling their hosts, and it was likely a contributing factor in John Souttar's mistake for the opening goal.

That moment was the culmination of Motherwell pressing Rangers high in the early stages. In the example below, they pin the home side in as they attempt to play out, committing five players into the final third, forcing Connor Goldson to go long, from which the Steelmen mop up the second ball and transfer it back into Rangers' defensive third.

The next example is also from the opening exchanges, with their front line pressurising a ball back to Jack Butland, and his attempt to find Ridvan Yilmaz at left-back is cut out. Jack Vale, however, is just unable to bring it under control, and Rangers are fortunate to escape danger.

When required to regroup in their shape, Motherwell attempted to funnel Rangers into wide areas while closing off spaces through the middle. Their positioning in the below example limits passing options for the advancing Souttar; Theo Bair blocks the ball inside to John Lundstram, while Lennon Miller prevents an opening to play into Mohamed Diomande. Souttar's only option is Yilmaz, and the left-back's indecision causes him to delay a pass to Cyriel Dessers, going short just as the striker moves down the line.

These instances are in stark contrast to Hibs' performance in the 3-0 defeat to Rangers at Easter Road in January. Far less shut off central spaces, Montgomery's side frequently surrendered them due to a lack of cohesion in their defensive shape, and a numerical disadvantage in the middle of the pitch. Lundstram was afforded the freedom of Leith, and the 3v2 Rangers' midfield allowed the likes of Todd Cantwell to drift unchallenged into open space. See below how Hibs' disorganisation allows Lundstram an easy pass into Cantwell, who can turn unchallenged with the whole game in front of him.

Note how, when Cantwell appears in the pocket, Joe Newell holds his position, and Élie Youan looks around as though unsure who is supposed to be picking up the Rangers midfielder. Cantwell exchanges passes with Raskin before opening the play out wide right, allowing Rangers an easy advance into the final third.

Hibs were still fitting square pegs into round holes at this point, with Dylan Vente occupying the supporting striker role, and a ring rusty Myziane Maolida up top with him. Newell and Dylan Levitt were frequently overrun, and Rangers' opening goal arrived from Lundstram stepping into a gaping hole midway inside the Hibs half.

Rangers sought to create an overload on the right, with Cantwell and Raskin dragging Levitt and Newell over to that side. No one dropped in to cover the central space, and that allowed Lundstram to turn and play in Yilmaz to score.

Hibs simply cannot afford a repeat of all of the above on Sunday, and it feels unlikely they will be so ragged given the influx of signings and key men returning, the combination of which has allowed Montgomery to tweak his system and, crucially, deploy players in their preferred roles. Through building his match fitness, Myziane has been unrecognisable from his laboured performance that night, and the recent momentum Hibs have built creates hope that Rangers will face a very different proposition this time out.

In the second half of January's encounter, Hibs created one of their very few chances on the night through simply being more aggressive. Butland played wide to Souttar, and that triggered Hibs to press. The centre-back attempted to pass into midfield, but the ball was cut out by Lewis Stevenson, who then picked out Jimmy Jeggo. After getting back onside, Emiliano Marcondes was slipped through by Jeggo, beating Lundstram one-on-one before his shot was saved by Butland.

With Rangers travelling back from a gruelling encounter in Lisbon, and an already lengthy injury list limiting Clement's options for significant rotation, this feels like the ideal opportunity for Hibs to take the game to them from the outset.

Where can Rangers be got at?

Under Clement, Rangers have shown significant defensive improvement. They are the country's top performers for xG conceded and shots faced while in goal, Butland has proven an excellent signing. But their rear-guard is not impenetrable.

Central defensive pairing Goldson and Souttar have shown some signs of vulnerability in recent weeks. As discussed, it was the latter's error that allowed Bair to open the scoring for Motherwell last week, and neither player fared particularly well in Thursday night's 2-2 Europa League draw away at Benfica.

READ MORE: Why Hibs have no reason to fear Rangers - fan view

There is evidence that, if you can isolate the centre-backs, you may get some joy creating chances against Rangers. Two recent examples show signs of frailty when there are willing attacking runners served with clipped passes in behind.

Against Aberdeen in February, a simple, early lofted pass from Connor Barron catches out the Rangers centre-backs, with Bojan Miovski outmuscling Goldson before finishing beyond Butland.

Rangers also went behind at home to Ross County last month, and there was a similar look to how they conceded. A lofted pass releases Eamonn Brophy down the right, dragging Goldson out wide. Brophy does well to fashion a low cross that catches out Souttar, who fails to recover enough ground to stop Simon Murray applying a simple finish.

If Hibs are to explore this potential avenue of attack however, it would require a departure from how they have played under Montgomery to date. Early balls from midfield for runners into channels are not a feature of this side's attacking play, but the manager showed in the win at Tynecastle that he is prepared to mix things up. Hibs' goal in the derby came from a long David Marshall diagonal out towards Lewis Miller, with the visitors going man for man against the Hearts backline and Martin Boyle capitalising on their failure to deal with it.

I had suggested in our Thursday afternoon video briefing that Montgomery will, depending on availability, stick with the same side he has picked for the last three matches.

Having looked at where Rangers can be got at, however, it could cross his mind to play Myziane through the middle in attempt to unsettle Goldson and Souttar with his pace and power. Against Celtic at Easter Road, he caused several problems for Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales with a willingness to simply run in behind them. Conversely, Montgomery may prefer to keep Myziane out wide to challenge James Tavernier, both offensively and defensively.

Either way, this is a fixture that requires Hibs to function much better as a unit than on Rangers' previous visit to Easter Road.