Impressed Brian Laudrup believes Celtic are the real deal but is certain Rangers can emerge victorious in the Viaplay Cup Final IF they knock the holders out their stride.
The Danish wing king is under no illusion the task is tall for Michael Beale and his players, however, he reckons the pace of Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala offer a perfect counter-punch at Hampden against a side who love to bring their full-backs into midfield. Ange Postecoglou is eyeing a third domestic trophy at the national stadium but Beale's side are undefeated in 14 games under his stewardship as he eyes a quick-fire triumph.
Laudrup expects a cracker in Mount Florida, he is certain Rangers have the ability to unbalance Celtic and reckons Carl Starfelt is a different player when the opposition run at him at pace. Speaking in his Daily Mail column, he said: "If you look at Celtic, they are inspired by the same kind of thoughts we see at Manchester City and Arsenal in England. The full-backs invert to become midfielders at times when they're on the ball. It's been one of Postecoglou's trademarks. It's a modern, attractive way to play but these movements will, eventually, also leave some space to exploit on the wings if you can force quick transitions and counter-attacks.
"To make the most of it, you need players who can pick the right pass under pressure. That's where Raskin could be ideal. And you need players with real pace to be on the end of those passes. It's why I'd expect Fashion Sakala to continue ahead of Kemar Roofe, despite the latter looking sharp and scoring when coming off the bench at Livingston. Roofe is a potential Hampden matchwinner, but I think more as an ace up the sleeve for Beale.
"If Sakala shows up well in training, he has the raw speed Rangers require. We saw what he did against Celtic last month, setting up a goal and winning a penalty. They didn't know how to handle him for a spell in the game. On the other side, Ryan Kent has pace, trickery and finishing ability. I suspect those two could be critical to Rangers' hopes of winning the trophy.
"Because of the relentless pressing Celtic deploy, you must be brave to play through it at times. Also, you need to be prepared go a little longer when needed. It could be interesting to see what happens if Sakala or Kent can get into more exposed situations. In a one-on-one, Cameron Carter-Vickers has shown he's excellent. Carl Starfelt? A very good siege defender, but I think you can run at him. There are areas available for Rangers to try and unbalance their rivals.
"Raskin wasn't around for the 2-2 draw between the teams on January 2, but Beale will have learned a lot from that match. He will certainly be stressing the importance of starting better at Hampden. Mistakes gifted Celtic an early goal last month and it took some time for Rangers to match the high intensity of their opponents. Once they did, it was a different game.
"They must be on it from the first whistle this time. If not, the Parkhead side could deliver some ruthless punishment. More positively, Beale will also have seen some weaknesses in the Celtic defence. Okay, the situation with Josip Juranovic coming on and playing left-back won't be repeated, but Rangers were able to create quite a lot of instability during the second half. I make no bones about repeating how impressive the Parkhead club have been under Postecoglou overall. They will be the bookmakers' favourites on Sunday.
"What we haven't seen, though, is a team really going at them and attempting to make them suffer defensively over a 90-minute game. It will be far from easy to achieve, but Rangers have to think that way. Yes, there will be pressure on the Ibrox players' shoulders. But the possibilities opened up by victory are even bigger. As I said at the start, it's a time when heroes can emerge.
"There are areas where Rangers can unbalance their rivals 1 Rangers have failed to win just once in the 14 matches since Michael Beale took over the reins from Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The game in question was a 2-2 draw against Celtic in the league."
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