Rangers squad revealed as Connor Goldson and 2 other…

Rangers squad revealed as Connor Goldson and 2 other stars force Michael Beale into last minute Hibs calls

Fans will be eagerly awaiting the team news tonight as Michael Beale gets set to name his first competitive starting XI as Rangers manager.

Beale's team take on Hibs at Ibrox looking to get the new era off to a flying start but some of the injury problems that plagued the Gio van Bronckhorst era are still being felt. It will come too soon for Tom Lawrence and John Souttar, who Beale expects to have back in January.

They won't have Borna Barisic either as he gets set for Croatia's third-place playoff in Qatar while Ridvan Yilmaz is also expected to miss out with injury. It's better news though for the likes of Connor Goldson and Ben Davies - while Kemar Roofe might also just be back in time for this one. Speaking ahead of the game, Beale said: “We have Kemar Roofe back in training which is good, there was a chance he could play at the weekend but I want the best version of players back.

"(Goldson and Davies) have both trained. Connor has not been available for a long time, Ben a shorter amount of time compared to Connor. I wouldn't say they are absolutely 100 percent for the game but they both have returned to training which is the good news.

"It's just now about getting them ready to play 90 minutes. With the amount of subs you can have and also having the ability to use five in-game it gives me an option to work them back within games rather than just outside of the team."

Predicted Rangers XI

While Beale was pleased to have three key players back in training, though, he urged caution over their conditions and hinted starts are unlikely. He went on: "I don’t want players coming back and breaking down. I have asked the sports science team to focus on the longer term rather than the next four days. It is important we don't push any player that is not quite ready as that is not fair. I want players back in good time and give everyone the opportunity to improve our situation."

With that in mind it seems unlikely Goldson or Davies will be thrown straight in, with the makeshift duo of Leon King and James Sands set to continue. With no Barisic or Yilmaz, there could also be another start for Charlie McCann at left-back.

As for the shape, it was difficult to pin down the fluid formation Beale fielded against Leverkusen which at times looked like a 4-4-2 diamond with Kent floating between left-winger and No.10. It could be any of Malik Tillman, Scott Wright and Rabbi Matondo accompanying him in the attacking positions alongside Antonio Colak - with the Croatian seeming likely to hold his spot ahead of Alfredo Morelos.