Glasgow Rangers are back in European action this evening as they prepare to welcome French side Lyon to Ibrox on the second matchday of the Europa League season.
The Light Blues secured a 2-0 win in Sweden against Malmo last week and are now looking to continue their 100% record in the competition tonight.
Philippe Clement’s side come into this game off the back of a 1-0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership last time out, thanks to a strike from Tom Lawrence.
One underwhelming forward who must be ruthlessly ditched from the starting XI after that victory over Hibs at Ibrox on Sunday is right winger Vaclav Cerny.
Vaclav Cerny's recent struggles
The Wolfsburg loanee recorded one goal and two assists in his first six appearances for Rangers in all competitions but has now gone four games without a goal contribution.
Cerny has particularly struggled in the last two matches, against Malmo and St Johnstone, with his lack of quality at the top end of the pitch for the Light Blues.
Minutes played
69
68
Shots
4
4
Shots on target
0
0
Key passes
0
0
Big chances missed
1
0
As you can see in the table above, the Czechia international took eight shots without hitting the target and failed to create a single chance for his teammates in those games.
The 26-year-old dud also missed a ‘big chance’ against Malmo as he sent his left-footed shot well wide of the post after racing one-on-one with Johan Dahlin.
With this in mind, Clement must brutally drop Cerny from the starting XI and bring Albania international Nedim Bajrami back into the line-up tonight.
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Why Nedim Bajrami should start
The summer signing from Sassuolo has caught the eye with a string of fantastic performances since his move to Ibrox on deadline day in August.
He recorded an assist on his debut for the club against Dundee in the League Cup with a left-footed cross over to Cyriel Dessers, who finished well on the half-volley.
Bajrami then scored his first goal for Rangers against Malmo last week with a simple finish inside the opening minute, after Dessers’ shot had hit the post.
The Albanian whiz was recently compared to Ryan Kent by ex-Gers forward Kris Boyd, who claimed that they have similar qualities in that they like to drift inside from the left flank to make things happen.
Kent assisted 56 goals in 218 appearances for the club and Bajrami has showcased his creative quality in the last two matches for the Light Blues.
The 25-year-old magician has created a whopping five ‘big chances’ in 129 minutes in the last two games, having started against Malmo and come off the bench against St Johnstone.
However, the winger was not rewarded with an assist from his teammates from any of those five ‘big chances’, which shows that he has been let down by his wasteful finishing.
Those statistics do show, though, that Bajrami has offered far more than Cerny – as both a scorer and a creator – and that is why he should replace him in the XI tonight, with Ross McCausland then moving across to the right side.
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