The Rangers weaknesses that could play into Hibs' hands

Nick Montgomery remains unbeaten as Easter Road manager but a positive result in Govan would be the biggest statement of his fledgling tenure yet. Hibs have enjoyed some memorable trips down the M8 and they will come up against a side under pressure and in transition. New manager Philippe comes in with Rangers seven points behind Celtic in the title race, and having already lost three league games, one to their city rivals and the others to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.

This may be a contender for most obvious statement of the season, but it bears repeating: Rangers have struggled badly in attack this season. Furnished with funds most of his Premiership contemporaries could only dream of, Michael Beale funnelled that cash into completely revamping his forward line.

In came Danilo, Sam Lammers, Abdallah Sima and the much-maligned Cyriel Dessers. An inability to coax a coherent tune from most of them ultimately the former assistant to Steven Gerrard his job. The mess left behind has now been passed to Clement. On paper, the Belgian certainly has better credentials. He has three top-flight titles in his homeland to his name with Genk and Club Brugge, albeit last managed an unsuccessful stint at Monaco in Ligue 1.

The Hibs Observer sneaking a view of the Rangers training pitch this week aside, it is impossible to say with any confidence what Clement will implement come kick-off at 3pm on Saturday. But it also feels safe to assert that he will not be able wave a magic wand and cure all the Ibrox side’s ills and deficiencies within a few short days.

What will have become abundantly clear to Montgomery and his staff as they pored over footage of Beale’s Rangers and assessed their season statistics, is that it is more than possible to stop them playing.

READ MORE: The Hibs Observer guide to tactical jargon - key terms explained

As he travelled to Glasgow via plane earlier this week, Clement shared a photo of himself and assistant Stephan van der Heyden reviewing footage of Rangers’ 1-0 win over Motherwell at Ibrox earlier this season, and he will have found plenty to concern him despite the result. The 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen was more damaging for Beale, obviously, but the cracks really started to show a few weeks earlier.

From a defensive point of view, it has been shown that a well-organised shape can effectively nullify a Rangers side already lacking in creative inspiration. Beale chopped and changed his front line so readily – some of it enforced by injury – that they gained little to no rhythm game-to-game, and by the end it was starkly evident in Rangers being a disjointed mess.

Against Motherwell, they recorded just 0.97xG. Their open play xG was even worse at 0.06, a damning figure and reflective of their creative struggles. The most striking problem is new signings failing to fire.

Lammers, despite being identified by Beale himself, looked ill-fitting to the system. Dessers, meanwhile, has offered very little – neither offering a threat in behind nor in receiving with his back to goal. It became a pattern against Motherwell that the more Rangers were unable to create via attacking patterns, the more often they resorted to early crosses, particularly from the left, with only two of their 16 attempted being successful. Rangers had 16 shots in the match, but 50 per cent of those were low xG taken from outside the box, pointing to a side increasingly lacking in ideas.

Indeed, despite consistently having the bulk of possession in matches Rangers are recording 3.88 deep completions per-90 minutes – passes completed within an estimated 20 yards from goal, excluding crosses – compared to the Premiership mean of 4.06.

But should be noted that defending crosses has not always been Hibs' strong suit, and in Tavernier and Borna Barisic, Rangers do have two of the best in the Premiership on that front. 

If Hibs can capitalise on and accentuate these weaknesses, it likely brings another factor into play. You won’t see this anywhere in the stats, but it has become almost a running joke this season that if you can stop Rangers playing, the crowd inevitably seems to turn on the players. Given the sheer hostility that boiled up during their defeats to Celtic and Aberdeen, it’s clear it can have an effect on a team with already brittle confidence.

For Montgomery, though, his work this week will be as much about what Hibs can do themselves as it will be about stopping Rangers. It feels unlikely the manager will deviate from his 4-4-2 setup. Perhaps the most pertinent question, then, will be: how do Hibs establish control?

A distinct lack of was the most significant contributing factor to a poor first-half display in the Edinburgh derby last time out. Hearts’ superiority in midfield rendered Hibs unable to establish possession for extended periods and the hosts’ sustained pressure eventually led to Montgomery’s side going two goals down.

What happened next was obviously thrilling and hugely memorable, but it’s not a position Hibs will want to find themselves in too often. For all their struggles, Rangers will still likely dominate the ball at the weekend, which could make what Hibs do in transition all the more important.

Potential injuries notwithstanding, Elie Youan and Martin Boyle will start on the flanks, and their contribution can be vital. Which of the two starts on the left will be interesting to note, as they will likely have the greatest defensive responsibility (Rangers frequently build down the right), as well as instructions to help facilitate quick counter-attacks into any space Tavernier may vacate.

READ MORE: How Hibs have improved at playing out under Montgomery?

Christian Doidge started alongside Dylan Vente at Tynecastle, but it became quickly evident that Hibs were missing a link between midfield and attack. The second-half introduction of Adam Le Fondre was among the factors that swung the match in Hibs' favour, and having around to join up the play - and try to negate the numerical advantage Rangers will look for in the middle of the pitch - could be important.

All that being said, there is an element of the unknown for Hibs, in that they will encounter a side implementing their new manager's style of play for the first time, and how Montgomery and his players adapt to that in real-time will be fascinating to observe.

This is a real challenge for Hibs, but one they should hold no trepidation over.