Steven Thompson suggests Kyle Lafferty start for Rangers

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Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox club Glasgow Rangers will face Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos

Steven Thompson has suggested in The Herald that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard should start Kyle Lafferty instead of Alfredo Morelos against Celtic at Celtic Park.

Ibrox club Rangers will take on Celtic away from home at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.

Gerrard’s side will head into the Old Firm derby with confidence and will fancy their chances of picking up all three points from the encounter.

Former Rangers striker Thompson, who was on the books of the Ibrox outfit from 2003 until 2006, has suggested that manager Gerrard should start Lafferty instead of Morelos in attack for the Gers against Celtic.

Colombian striker Morelos, 22, was sent off against FC Ufa on Thursday evening for two yellow cards in quick succession, with Rangers legend Derek Johnstone subsequently writing in The Glasgow Evening Times that it was “stupid”.

Thompson wrote in The Herald: “But for all the positives to take from the night, and there were many, surely one major worry that was highlighted once again for Steven Gerrard is that Alfredo Morelos has become a liability in big games.

“When it really matters, the striker has been found wanting, and he again let his teammates down in spectacular fashion on Thursday night.”

“If I was in Gerrard’s shoes, I would pick Kyle Lafferty to start up front, and not only through the fear that Morelos might do something daft and let the side down,” Thompson added.

“Even taking that out of the equation, Lafferty’s far superior goalscoring record against Celtic should see him get the nod.”

Kyle Lafferty or Alfredo Morelos?

Lafferty – who cost Rangers £500,000 in transfer fees when they signed him from Scottish Premiership rivals Heart of Midlothian in the summer transfer window, as reported by The Glasgow Evening Times – is known for scoring in big games.

The 30-year-old Northern Ireland international forward scored the winner for Hearts against Celtic in the Scottish Premiership earlier this summer, and it would not be a bad idea for Gerrard to start him against Celtic on Sunday.