Derek Johnstone claims this Rangers star is crucial against Celtic; predicts what Gers’ front three will look like

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Mark Warburton’s Glasgow Rangers side will be looking to avenge the defeat they suffered the last time these two teams met.

Rangers’ Kenny Miller

Derek Johnstone has told the Evening Times that he believes that Kenny Miller is crucial to Rangers’ hopes of reaching the Scottish Cup final before predicting the front three that Mark Warburton will select for the Hampden Park showdown.

The Gers go into Sunday’s semi-final with Celtic perhaps also looking to exact revenge for the defeat they suffered in the Scottish Premiership earlier this season.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton

And Johnstone has suggested that the 36-year-old’s involvement will be vital to their chances of banishing those painful memories from the last Old Firm game by knocking their rivals out of the competition, while also suggesting what he expects the front line to look like.

“Kenny is still a very important part of the forward line. Martyn Waghorn hasn’t been at the level he was last year and Barrie McKay has lost a bit of spark,” he told the Evening Times.

“Then you have Joe Garner, who has only scored once, and Joe Dodoo, who has yet to hit the heights he would have hoped.

“So Kenny is still a main man for Mark and, for me, he is a certainty to start against Celtic.

Johnstone expects Waghorn and McKay to start alongside Miller

“It is then a matter of plays alongside him. I think it will be Waghorn and McKay.”

Despite his advancing years, Miller is enjoying a good spell for the Gers. His three goals makes him the Light Blues’ leading goalscorer in the top flight this term.

Miller bagged the opener in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final

Perhaps more encouragingly heading into a game of this magnitude, all of his goals this season have proved to be important ones as they have all turned out to be the winners in those particular games.

And having bagged the opener when the two teams met in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final, there will surely be no reason why the veteran will not go into this weekend’s game with a huge amount of confidence that he can make an impact once again.