Rangers FC will be without Morelos and Kemar Roofe when they face RB Leipzig and according to journalist Keith Jackson, the manager might not be confident about using Fashion Sakala up front.
Alfredo Morelos is ruled out for the rest of the season while Roofe will only be ready for the 2nd leg so GvB has no other option but to use the 25-year-old as the first-choice centre-forward.
Jackson though has claimed that the Rangers FC manager feels selecting Fashion Sakala could be a major risk against a fourth-placed Bundesliga side.
He said (as per Ibrox News): “During the second half at Motherwell, it was Scott Arfield and then Joe Aribo who were deployed in that advanced central position.
“It could be that one of them will be thrown into the deep end against Leipzig, assuming Van Bronckhorst has already seen enough of Fashion Sakala to suspect that the Zambian is not yet a natural fit there.
“Sakala did lead the line for Rangers in Braga but operating with his back to goal looked like hard work for a player who wants to drive at opponents from wider areas.
“In fact, given the manner in which Sakala struggled to make any kind of impact that night in Portugal, Van Bronckhorst may think it would simply be too much of a risk.”
Aaron Ramsey sets up Fashion Sakala for his sixth league goal!!!
Never thought I'd type that ever! 😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/x0t4HWM6Fx
— Mahershalalhashbas (@milton_kesh) February 6, 2022
Fashion Sakala had a very good outing against Motherwell during the weekend and he’s also netted seven goals this season but it will be very difficult for his manager to blindly trust him on Thursday. He joined Rangers in the summer of 2021 as a free agent but he’s failed to move up the pecking order in these previous ten months.
GvB does have the option to use one of his wingers as a false nine but we don’t think the Rangers boss will want to complicate things so much.
He is likely to stick with his 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system against RB Leipzig and just hope that Sakala can find the back of the net so that they have something to hold onto.
