Category Uncategorized

Derby County have quite the reputation for giving their young starlets an opportunity to impress on the first-team stage, with a number of their star performers this season once just emerging academy prospects.

Both Max Bird and Eiran Cashin came through the youth ranks in Derbyshire, with the duo now some of the first names on Paul Warne's teamsheet at Pride Park this season and for good reason.

Bird in particular has impressed this campaign in League One – picking up five goals and seven assists in the third tier – which has seen the promising central midfielder win a move up to the Championship in the summer with Bristol City.

Derby will be planning for the long-term now knowing Bird will pack his bag for pastures new in Bristol soon, with one exciting Rams prospect nearing more senior minutes potentially when the 23-year-old star does inevitably up and leave.

Adebayo Fapetu's statistics at youth level

Adebayo Fapetu – who was previously on the books at Arsenal as a youngster – has excelled in the youth set-up at Derby ever since leaving north London behind in 2021.

For the Derby U18s before being bumped up to the U21 fold, the teenage starlet managed to amass six goals and six assists from 43 appearances.

Nine of those goal contributions would come in one single season for the youthful Rams, Fapetu taking the U18 Premier League by storm during the 2022/23 campaign with five goals and four assists notched up.

Able to play in an attacking midfield spot and further back in a holding role on top of gliding around the pitch in a conventional middle-of-the-park role, Fapetu has gone on to make three senior Rams appearances.

Highly thought of in Pride Park quarters, it could be argued that the exciting 19-year-old has shades of Will Hughes' game in his locker who has gone on to have an established career in the Premier League after making a name for himself in Derbyshire as a homegrown talent.

Derby could have their next Will Hughes

Current Crystal Palace midfielder Hughes would fill in wherever necessary for Derby in midfield during his celebrated time with the club, even playing down the right and left channels on occasion to plug gaps.

Fapetu has given the Derby U21s this season a similarly adaptable presence to rely upon, even featuring as a second striker in one Premier League 2 encounter against Nottingham Forest U21s.

Fapetu's appearances by position this season

Position played

Games played

Central midfield

6

Attacking midfield

2

Defensive midfield

2

Second striker

1

Sourced by Transfermarkt

The teenager has also worn the captain's armband at U21 level this campaign twice, with Hughes going on to be a leader in the middle of the park for Derby without ever having that honour at 187 first-team appearances.

With Bird off in the summer, Warne could do a lot worse than to try and start bedding Fapetu into more games to see what he's made of in the hustle and bustle of League One.

The Rams boss would hope that Fapetu could spark a formidable partnership with new fan's favourite Ebou Adams in midfield, with the Pride Park faithful already wanting the Cardiff City loanee to stick around permanently after impressing early into his Derby loan spell.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Expand Collapse

Winning an impressive 12 duels in Derby's 1-0 win against Stevenage last time out, the battling presence of Adams could see the promotion-seeking Rams grind out more wins.

If that was the case and Fapetu did begin to blossom alongside Adams, the decision to offload Bird could be stomached more easily by Warne and Co.

With Derby's conveyer belt for producing top young talents showing no signs of slowing down, and as fears begin to grow that Cashin could follow Bird out of the building, there will at least still be some positivity that emerging starlets such as Fapetu are being produced who could go on to become Hughes 2.0.

MatériaMais Notícias

Fim da linha para Renato Gaúcho. Após a eliminação na Terceira Fase da Libertadores, algo inesperado, a diretoria do Tricolor se reuniu nesta quinta-feira e optou pela saída do comandante.

+ Quem venceria um duelo entre Seleção do Nordeste e Seleção do Sudeste hoje? Veja os times!

Apesar da queda no torneio continental que culminou em sua demissão, Portaluppi não esteve à frente da equipe nos duelos contra o Independiente Del Valle, já que se recupera de Covid-19.

Pressão

A chapa de Renato Gaúcho começou a esquentar na reta final da temporada passada. Após a queda na Libertadores, a Copa do Brasil virou a tábua de salvação, mas o desempenho nas duas partidas contra o Palmeiras pesaram na conta do treinador.

Irritado com as críticas, o comandante pediu reforços de peso, mas apenas o lateral-direito Rafinha e o volante Thiago Santos chegaram ao clube.

RelacionadasPalmeirasUruguaio apita estreia do Palmeiras na Libertadores 2021Palmeiras15/04/2021Fora de CampoSormani diz que Libertadores ‘caiu no colo’ do Palmeiras e que Grêmio joga mais ‘na cabeça do Renato’Fora de Campo15/04/2021SportSport anuncia a chegada do técnico Umberto LouzerSport15/04/2021

Torcida

Antes intocável, Portaluppi virou alvo de críticas da massa Tricolor. Nas últimas semanas as redes sociais explodiam de xingamentos após as fracas atuações da equipe.

Passagem

Em sua terceira passagem como técnico do Grêmio, Renato colecionou polêmicas, frases de efeito e taças: Copa do Brasil (2016), da Libertadores (2017), da Recopa Sul-Americana (2018), de três estaduais (2018, 2019 e 2020) e uma Recopa Gaúcha (2019).

The former batsman takes over Aaron Hamilton, who was in charge of the side for more than four years

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2019

Ed Joyce retired from all forms of cricket in May 2018•Getty Images

Former Ireland batsman Ed Joyce has been appointed the interim head coach of the country’s women’s team, replacing Aaron Hamilton, who was in charge of the side for more than four years.After retiring as a player in May 2018 following Ireland’s Test debut, Joyce assumed a new role overseeing leadership development and acting as a batting coach in the Ireland performance system.Hamilton’s exit comes after Ireland women lost all of their last eight T20Is, including four in the World T20 in the Caribbean last year. Joyce takes over the role just two months before the World T20 qualifying tournament in Scotland.”I’m excited by the talent and potential of this young squad – there were some extremely encouraging performances from several players during the West Indies series and this bodes well leading into potentially more important games later in the summer,” Joyce said.”It’s a great opportunity for me to further my journey in coaching, albeit on an interim basis until the end of the T20 World Cup qualifier. I have been coaching some of the top order batters on a 1-on-1 basis, as well as joining squad sessions in the lead-up to the West Indies series that just finished. On a personal note, I enjoyed working with Aaron during the last few months and wish him and his family well with the next step.”Joyce’s sisters Isobel and Cecelia were both a part of the Ireland squad at the World T20, but retired at the end of the disappointing campaign along with Clare Shillington and Ciara Metcalfe.

Although a significant transfer is off the table for Manchester United this January, they will still look to reinforce their squad before the end of deadline day.

Erik ten Hag's squad has been relatively thin all season due to injuries, yet that problem will only worsen with a few players on their way out.

Therefore, to avoid a repeat of the first half of the season, United will become active in the latter stage of the window.

Man United want to sign a centre-back

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Man United have inquired about a potential loan deal for Matthijs de Ligt.

The Dutch centre-back is estimated to be worth £43m as per CIES Football Observatory, but he could become a stop-gap signing this winter.

The fact that United are in a rebuilding period means that a loan seems to be the way forward, alongside their financial fair play restrictions.

De Ligt's record under Ten Hag

Games

70

Goals

8

Assists

5

Yellow cards

7

Red cards

0

Minutes played

6,198

Clean sheets

30

Stats via Transfermarkt.

How De Ligt would fit into the United starting XI

Injuries have been a problem across the entire team for the Red Devils this season, but their centre-backs have been particularly affected.

Every single central defender, bar Willy Kambwala, has picked up an injury this season, but luckily, Lisandro Martinez returned to the field against Spurs last time out.

The Argentine is hands-down United's first-choice left centre-back, with Ten Hag valuing his on-the-ball ability and proactivity. However, the boss has yet to find a perfect partner for the number six that he can rely on, which is why the loan move for De Ligt has come into the picture.

The 24-year-old defender was the rock and leader of Ten Hag's Ajax team that reached the semi-final of the 2018/19 Champions League campaign, which is why he's been described as a "generational talent" by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig. However, he has fallen out of favour at Bayern Munich and only played 14 games across all competitions.

Nonetheless, let's take a look at De Ligt's stats from the last year and how they compare to his positional peers from Europe's top five leagues.

De Ligt's Stats: Last 365 days

Stats (per 90)

De Ligt

Ranking in Europe

Passes completed

67.38

Top 8%

Pass completion %

91.2%

Top 8%

Progressive passes

5.46

Top 8%

Passes into final third

6.01

Top 5%

Touches

82.37

Top 13%

Aerials won

3.52

Top 6%

Stats via FBref

The biggest attribute of the former Juventus star is his ability to control a game via his technical qualities and vast passing range, which is also one of Martinez's biggest strengths, as highlighted by the fact he had the second most accurate passes per game for United last season.

As a pairing, they would assert so much dominance in possession, rarely losing it while also having the ability to feed those higher up the field. They would also bring the best out of Andre Onana's passing qualities while allowing Ten Hag to switch to his playing out-from-the-back philosophy.

Furthermore, De Ligt's pure power and athleticism allow him to be dominant in the air, which would help United become more dangerous from crosses while also making them less likely to concede from set pieces. This is particularly important when next to Martinez, who ranks in the bottom 2% for aerials won across the top European leagues, as per FBref.

Overall, De Ligt would make United a much more balanced team, and his composed approach would work perfectly alongside the aggressive Argentine. Even if it's just a loan, it could turn Ten Hag's season around.

The first half of the season was all about the rise and subsequent fall of Ange Postecoglou's swashbuckling Tottenham team.

Spurs had looked like title contenders in the early stages of the term, unbeaten in their first nine league matches. However, four consecutive games without a win later saw them fall out of the top four.

That said, as 2023 drew to a close, they were still only a point behind bitter rivals Arsenal who currently sit in fourth spot.

Injuries have ravaged Postecoglou's side but fortunately, Johan Lange and Co now have a transfer window to sink their teeth into.

Tottenham's January transfer window plans

One area the club are looking to strengthen is the centre of defence with Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin having already reportedly agreed personal terms with the club.

Lange also has plans to bolster Spurs' midfield, with Borussia Monchengladbach powerhouse Manu Kone lined up for a potential move to the Premier League.

That's according to Rudy Galetti who suggested in the dying stages of 2023 that Tottenham were one of the sides interested in making a deal happen. They will, however, face the arduous challenge of fighting away PSG.

A deal won't come cheap with Transfermarkt currently rating Kone at a valuation of £31m. It's expected he may well cost a fair bit more than that though.

How Manu Kone compares to Mousa Dembele

Try as they might, Spurs have struggled to replicate the sincere impact that Mousa Dembele had on the spine of their team.

The likes of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur have been signed in a bid to offer similar attributes but truth be told, neither are cut from the same cloth.

You only need to look at how some in the game regard the Belgian to understand his impact at White Hart Lane.

Indeed, Jack Wilshere once stated: "You couldn’t get the ball off him, his dribbling was unreal.” There was finer praise from Kyle Walker who said: "Dembele was probably the best player I’ve ever seen play football." As for Eric Dier, he aptly suggested he was a "monster".

Arguably one of the best press-resistant midfielders to grace English football, Dembele was perhaps ahead of his time. Though, in Kone, Postecoglou could have a like-minded player at his disposal.

Detailing the Frenchman's playstyle, scout Antonio Mango commented: "Strong stance when receiving the ball, fantastic ball-carrier & extremely difficult to overturn. One of the best in Europe. Koné very rarely loses possession & always looks to play forward, that’s key."

That certainly sounds a lot like Dembele, but let's compare some of the finer details a bit more closely.

Progressive Carries

2.35

3.16

Progressive Passes

3.24

10.1

Expected Goals (xG)

0.05

0.02

Pass Success Rate

88%

92%

Key Passes

0.88

0.86

Shot-creating Actions

2.50

2.39

Tackles Won

1.18

1.15

Tackles & Interceptions

3.24

3.30

Take-ons Attempted

5.44

3.88

Carries into final 3rd

2.06

2.82

While Dembele tallied up a rather ridiculous number of progressive passes per game during the 2017/18 campaign, the two players are largely very similar. Their key pass rate and number of shot-creating actions are nearly identical while they both love to attempt take-ons and carry the ball into the final third.

Postecoglou certainly has some fine ball progressers in his side at the moment, chiefly the likes of James Maddison and Heung-min Son but there is still something lacking from the midfield. Kone could bring that to Spurs, just as Dembele did all those years ago.

Aston Villa begin 2024 occupying second place in the Premier League table in what has been a wonderful campaign so far for the Midlands outfit.

Unai Emery has totally reinvigorated the club since taking over from Steven Gerrard, and the supporters will be hoping he can end their 28-year major trophy drought this term.

The Spaniard will not be resting on his laurels despite defeating the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal recently to take the top flight by storm, especially with the club still in three competitions.

Indeed, they have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League while they face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Friday night.

The FA Cup could represent an ideal chance to claim a trophy and this could influence Emery’s choice of starting XI.

Related Latest Aston Villa transfer news: Unai eyes £40m deal; Saudi club want star

It’s a huge summer for Aston Villa and Unai Emery as they prepare for the Champions League.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Jul 11, 2024

We at Football FanCast have predicted that the manager will make four changes to his lineup from the one that beat Burnley 3-2 for the away trip to Middlesbrough, but they should still have enough quality to see off the Championship side.

1 GK – Emiliano Martínez

The Argentinian shot-stopper will keep his place for the cup tie, having played in all but five matches during the current season.

Martinez has kept just six clean sheets across all competitions for Villa, yet this does not appear to have hindered their performances as they remain on course for their finest season this century.

2 RB – Calum Chambers

Matty Cash missed the defeat to Manchester United due to suspension, while illness robbed him of a place in the side that won against Burnley, but Emery may rest him for this one.

Chambers has made just three appearances this term, with none coming in the Premier League, yet it could be a chance for him to gain a rare start for Villa this season.

3 CB – Ezri Konsa

Centre-back is a position in which Villa has solid strength, as Emery can call on Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, and Clement Lenglet.

The Englishman will retain his place from the victory over Burnley, and he has missed just one match all season, proving to the Spaniard that he can be relied on.

4 CB – Clement Lenglet

The on-loan Barcelona defender has featured in Villa’s previous three Premier League matches having failed to make it off the bench in the previous 17 games and the tie against Boro represents an opportunity for another run out.

Lenglet started all but one of the Europa Conference League group matches, and it gives Emery the chance to rest Carlos ahead of tougher fixtures.

5 LB – Alex Moreno

With Lucas Digne currently injured and expected to miss all of Villa’s matches this month, Moreno will be called upon by Emery to be the main option at left-back.

The Spaniard returned to action following his own injury issues against Legia Warsaw in November and proceeded to score in what was an eventual 2-1 win.

The clash against Boro will be just his tenth start of the campaign, and he could forge his way into Emery’s plans due to the injury to Digne.

6 RM – Leon Bailey

The former Bayer Leverkusen winger has been in exceptional form this season, giving Emery a solid attacking outlet on the right-hand side of his midfield.

Indeed, the winger has netted nine goals and grabbed eight assists across all competitions, and he will be deployed on the right against the Championship side with the hopes of scoring in the third competition he has played in this term.

7 CM – John McGinn

The Scot has been an almost-ever-present in the Villa side this season, starting 27 of their 29 fixtures so far during 2023/24, and he will be expected to play against Boro.

The midfielder has also been a decent source of goals too, finding the back of the net on seven occasions as he always looks to push forward whenever possible.

In his previous two matches against Boro, McGinn has scored and provided an assist, and another goal contribution or two tomorrow will go a long way to the club securing a place in the next round.

8 CM – Boubacar Kamara

The Frenchman has missed Villa’s previous three matches due to suspension and the club missed his presence in the heart of the midfield as they won just one of those three league clashes.

A tie against second tier opposition is an ideal match for him to return and be unleashed in the starting XI, especially considering he hasn’t played since the 17th December against Brentford.

With a 90% pass completion rate in the Premier League this term, expect Kamara to dictate the play against Boro as Villa look to progress in the FA Cup tomorrow.

9 LM – Nicolo Zaniolo

The Italian has not quite had the greatest impact since joining from Galatasaray on a season-long loan, but playing against Boro could allow him to thrive on the left-hand side of the midfield.

The 24-year-old has more yellow cards than goals this season so far (six vs two) and he will need to improve over the coming weeks in order to convince Emery that he can be relied upon during the final stages of the campaign.

10 ST – Jhon Duran

The youngster – Jhon Duran – will take the place of Moussa Diaby for the cup tie in what will be a rare start in attack.

The £130k-per-week “bright spark” – as so dubbed by Leon Osman earlier this season – Diaby could be rested for the tie against Boro as Emery will rotate his side accordingly.

Villa's French whiz has scored just five times this season and while Duran has only netted four times, the 20-year-old has started just six matches all campaign.

West Bromwich Albion succumbed to a second defeat on the spin away at Sunderland yesterday, the managerless Black Cats winning the game 2-1 courtesy of a blistering cameo off the bench from Alex Pritchard helping the hosts gain an advantage.

The 30-year-old's two assists in a breakneck 18-minute substitute cameo turned the game on its head for Sunderland, with Brandon Thomas-Asante's goal in the 86th minute proving to be too little too late for the Baggies to get anything from the contest.

Registering more shots on target than their hosts – Carlos Corberan's men notching up seven on-target efforts over the 90 minutes compared to Sunderland's slightly lesser total of five – West Brom would have felt aggrieved when the referee sounded his whistle at the conclusion of the contest that they left the Stadium of Light without even a point for their efforts.

Still, when reflecting on the game from a West Brom perspective, those with connections to the Championship promotion hopefuls will feel certain senior individuals let the side down in this slim 2-1 loss.

Notably, West Brom's star winger Grady Diangana barely threatened in attack for Corberan's men throughout the 90 minutes in another out-of-sorts performance from the hot-and-cold forward.

Grady Diangana's performance in numbers vs Sunderland

The ex-West Ham United attacker was quiet throughout, Pritchard stepping up to be a hero for the hosts with nobody swooping in to play that role for the away team.

The Congolese winger only registered one shot from a dire 60-minute spell on the pitch, the solitary effort blocked by the Black Cats defenders standing firm before it could trouble Anthony Patterson behind them.

He was lively venturing forward in patches of the contest – successful with five of his six dribbled attempts at the Stadium of Light – but his end product following a promising dart forward was always lacking.

Diangana was particularly wasteful with the ball at his feet attempting to play teammates into the game, losing possession a grand total of 16 times with eight misplaced passes picked up along the way.

He even managed to touch the ball fewer times than West Brom's goalkeeper Alex Palmer in this one, amassing 38 touches to Palmer's 46.

Birmingham Live writer Joseph Chapman would give Diangana a 5/10 rating for his showing against Sunderland, stating that the winger often 'overran the ball' and complicated matters up top.

This below-par offering is not just a one-off for the underperforming Baggies man however, the left winger underwhelming fans of the West Midlands club on a regular basis currently.

Grady Diangana's season in numbers

Diangana first emerged onto the scene at the Hawthorns full of energy and skill with a potent finish in his locker too – scoring eight times in his full debut season for the Baggies in the Championship back in the 2019-20 campaign.

Fast forward to the present day, the 5 foot 11 attacker does showboat still but the end product is beginning to dry up.

The Congolese trickster has only contributed to one West Brom goal being scored in the last five matches for Corberan's men, struggling to make an impact like he used to as a fresh signing hungry to succeed.

The 25-year-old struggled against West Brom's promotion rivals Southampton and Leicester City last month, inaccurate with all three of his crosses at St Mary's with the Saints going on to win 2-1.

Corberan's patience will be wearing thin with Diangana now, hopeful that his misfiring attacker can get his fading personal season back on track against Rotherham United on Tuesday night to help his team pick up three points after losing two in a row.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na próxima sexta-feira, o Grêmio, que ainda sonha com o título do Brasileirão, viaja até a capital paulista para encarar o Palmeiras, no Allianz Parque, pela 30ª rodada do torneio nacional.

+ TABELA DE CLASSIFICAÇÃO DO CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO

Além de continuar perto do pelotão de elite do BR-20, o time de Portaluppi vai tentar a primeira vitória contra um dos gigantes do futebol paulista na competição.

Nos cinco jogos até o momento, o Tricolor foi superado uma vez e empatou as outras quatro. A única derrota foi contra o Santos, na Vila Belmiro.

+ Ninguém quer o Brasileirão! Tropeço de líderes inspira memes entre os torcedores

Diante do Palmeiras, adversário desta semana, o Grêmio recebeu o Verdão na Arena e suou para obter o resultado de 1 a 1, com direito a gol nos minutos finais.

Veja o desempenho do Tricolor contra os gigantes paulistas:

Grêmio 0 x 0 Corinthians
Grêmio 1 x 1 Palmeiras
Santos 2 x 1 Grêmio
São Paulo 0 x 0 Grêmio
Corinthians 0 x 0 Grêmio

RelacionadasGrêmioMaicon deve ser a novidade do Grêmio para encarar o PalmeirasGrêmio12/01/2021InternacionalGre-Nal se aproxima e Edenilson manda recado: ‘Está na hora de vencer’Internacional12/01/2021Fora de CampoCicinho crava: ‘Diniz vai para o Flamengo e Ceni para o São Paulo’Fora de Campo12/01/2021

Manchester City have been heavily linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz this year, and a fresh report has now shared an update on the club’s pursuit.

Wirtz profiled

Wirtz is naturally an attacking midfielder who has plied his trade at the BayArena for the past three, almost four years having worked his way up through his club’s youth ranks to get promoted to their first-team where he’s made a total of 123 senior appearances to date (Transfermarkt – Wirtz statistics).

The Germany international still has just under four years remaining on his deal as it stands (Bayer Leverkusen agents), but that hasn’t stopped the hierarchy from wanting to make their interest known as they consider making an official move in the near future.

Back in November, 90min reported that the Sky Blues had sent scouts to watch the 20-year-old live in action having wanted him in summer, but this isn’t a deal that will be taking place in the here and now after a claim was made by one key figure in particular.

Wirtz's father and agent, Hans-Joachim, has revealed that Pep Guardiola’s target is set to remain with his club for next season at least, though that doesn’t mean that chiefs are giving up hope that a deal won’t be possible upon the conclusion of that campaign where they believe they can still bring him to the Premier League.

Man City ready to battle for Wirtz

According to 90min once again, Man City and Liverpool are prepared to fight for Wirtz and are huge fans of the player, despite Bayern Munich being the team currently leading the race to secure his services.

“Manchester City and Liverpool remain determined to sign Florian Wirtz despite Bayern Munich's ongoing interest in the Bayer Leverkusen prodigy, 90min understands.

"A transfer is more likely to come in 2025, with a preference to stay in Germany making domestic suitors Bayern Munich an obvious destination.

"But 90min understands that Manchester City and Liverpool aren't prepared to throw in the towel for Wirtz. They each remain huge admirers of the young attacker and intend to fight Bayern all the way to end of the race for his signature.”

Wirtz's prolific impact in the final third

Across all competitions this season, Wirtz has clocked up 16 involvements (ten assists and six goals), in 20 Bundesliga appearances, and while he’s lethal with the ball at his feet, he’s able to pose a constant threat even if the end product doesn’t always come to fruition.

Sponsored by Adidas, Pulheim’s native ranks in the 95th percentile for successful take-ons, showing that he loves to use his athletic pace to dribble past his marker and create as many chances as possible for both himself and his fellow teammates (FBRef – Wirtz statistics).

Likes to do layoffs

Likes to dribble

Plays the ball off the ground often (Data via WhoScored)

Furthermore, Wirtz, described as an "elite talent" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, is a versatile operator having been deployed in six various positions over the grass since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline and two roles in the midfield, so should he put pen to paper, it could be a coup for Man City.

Glasgow Rangers face a different sort of challenge this evening as Philippe Clement takes charge of the Ibrox side for the first time in European competition.

A trip to the Czech Republic to face Sparta Prague will prove to be a slightly more difficult task than what Hibernian offered at Ibrox on the weekend, as the Easter Road outfit slumped to a 4-0 defeat.

The early signs certainly look positive from the Belgian and another win this evening will buy him more credit with the supporters as a new era in Glasgow has well and truly begun.

The 49-year-old could perhaps likely make some changes from the starting XI that took on Hibs just a few days ago and rotation will be key to keep the players fresh.

What is the Rangers team news vs Sparta Prague?

One problem the former Club Brugge boss has is who will start at left-back. Borna Barisic was substituted off during the early stages of the Hibs clash with what appeared to be a thigh problem, and he was replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz.

Due to Michael Beale’s incompetence, Yilmaz is not included in the Europa League squad, leaving the Gers extremely light in this area and this could prompt Clement into a reshuffle at the back.

He could perhaps slot Ben Davies into the left side of defence, and this will probably be the logical thing to do ahead of the vital tie.

There could also be changes to the attacking setup and despite Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers enjoying solid performances against Hibs, will Clement start the duo or give opportunities to others who are keen to shine?

How has Sam Lammers performed for Rangers this season?

Although positive on the weekend, Lammers has failed to really convince the Ibrox faithful that his £3m transfer fee is fully justified.

Since joining from Atalanta in the summer under Beale, the Dutchman has found the back of the net only once across 17 matches, yet this was to be expected considering the forward scored just six goals since the beginning of the 2020/21 season.

This isn’t due to a lack of trying as the forward currently ranks first for shots per game (3.2) across the whole squad in the Premiership, yet he ranks seventh for goals and assists (two) and third for big chances missed (three) during the opening nine games of the season.

This form suggests he has yet to make the desired impact at the Glasgow side and Sparta Prague will prove to be a much more difficult opponent to break down compared to Hibs, giving Clement the licence to ditch Lammers.

The question is, who could replace him in the starting XI? With Todd Cantwell returning from injury on the weekend, he could be ready for his first start since the Old Firm clash against Celtic at the start of September.

Could Todd Cantwell start against Sparta Prague?

After missing five matches due to a knee injury suffered against Celtic, Cantwell made his return on Saturday and his 32-minute cameo was an effective one.

The midfielder replaced Scott Wright with just over half an hour left and he not only grabbed an assist, but also made two key passes, took one shot on target, and completed 88% of his attempted passes.

2-1 win vs Servette

2-0 win vs Sparta Prague

2-0 win vs FC Shkupi

1-0 win vs Progres Niederkorn

1-0 defeat to Malmö

It was a profitable return for the former Norwich City gem, and it may have opened a door for him to be unleashed from the first whistle against the Czech side.

How much did Todd Cantwell cost Rangers?

During Beale’s first transfer window in charge of the Light Blues, he managed to secure the signing of Cantwell from Norwich City for a fee believed to be around £1.5m and despite suffering a poor start to the season with the East Anglian side, it has proved to be a bargain so far for the Gers.

Gary Cockaday, his former youth coach, hailed him previously when discussing his talents as he made his way through to the first team at Norwich, saying: “At one point, two of them had Todd up against the line and you could see them thinking, ‘Gotcha!’

“Todd looked at one of them in the eye, put his toe under the ball, flicked it back over his head, turned and he was gone. All without looking at the ball.

“He did things every week that were just special. It was God-given. No one taught it. I always believed if you had someone like that, don’t change them or make them conform.”

His first few months at Ibrox were a major success as he finished the 2022/23 season having scored six times while registering five assists and his displays were one of the few bright sparks in a relatively poor season for the club.

The 25-year-old has yet to score so far this term, but this could be down to Beale’s lack of a proper tactical system rather than Cantwell’s ability suddenly diminishing.

Indeed, across the squad for his league displays, he currently ranks fifth for shots per game (1.8) along with ranking in the top five for interceptions per game (1.2) and while he has yet to hit the heights of last term, he could thrive under Clement.

A tie against Sparta will provide a perfect challenge for Cantwell, and he could certainly stake a claim to be a regular starter by putting on a solid performance.

Lammers has looked out of sorts since arriving in Scotland and although the Hibs tie indicated he could still have some sort of role under the Belgian, a European tie represents an ideal chance for him to rest a few players.

Cantwell may not be fit enough to last the full 90 minutes, yet his inclusion from the start could only benefit the Gers as they go chasing their second group stage win of the current season.