WITH the winter break now over - on paper, at least, as snow falls on Glasgow at the time of writing - Rangers are back in action in the Premiership, facing a tricky fixture away to Kilmarnock.

Steve Clarke’s side have been something of a bogey team for both halves of the Old Firm since the 55-year-old took charge at Rugby Park over a year ago but Rangers can take heart from their last result in Ayrshire, when they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners in the League Cup back in August.

Only one point separates the two sides and both managers will be keenly aware that they cannot afford to lose this one. Kilmarnock will leapfrog Rangers in the table with a win, while Steven Gerrard will be all too aware of the fact that Celtic could extend their lead at the Premiership summit if Rangers fail to pick up three points. Celtic host St Mirren on Wednesday evening and it’s hard to imagine that Oran Keaney’s side will cause them too many problems.

The fixture looks like the pick of the midweek round of games and with both teams will be wary of the threat the other poses. Kilmarnock have generally looked solid this season, but there are apparent weaknesses that Gerrard can exploit to help boost his team’s chances of leaving with all three points.

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The first question that Gerrard must address is to decide on what formation to field. Rangers have usually lined up in a 4-2-3-1 this season, although Gerrard experimented with a 4-4-2 during Sunday’s friendly against HJK Helsinki on Sunday afternoon. The Rangers boss was doing this to see how Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe played as a partnership in all likelihood, but the 38-year-old must resist the temptation to do so at Rugby Park.

Kilmarnock have an excellent record against teams set up in a 4-4-2; they’ve won all five of their games where their opponent has done so, scoring nine goals and conceding just once. Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian have all opted for a compact, structured lineup against Clarke’s side this season and all three have gone on to lose the game.

The reason for this is that Kilmarnock excel at counter-attacking like no other Premiership side, and are simultaneously one of the best teams in the division at responding to them. More than half of the Ayrshire club’s counter attacks result in shots at goal, while only 22% of counter-attacks against result in an effort on the Kilmarnock goal. Going 4-4-2 would be a risk for Gerrard, however great the temptation to start his top scorer and new signing together may be.

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There has been talk of Rangers lining up in a 4-4-2 diamond system, but this wouldn’t be to the Ibrox club’s benefit. Yes, Rangers fans would get to see Defoe and Morelos playing together, but it doesn’t play to Rangers’ strengths, nor does it expose Kilmarnock’s greatest weaknesses.

Getting the formation right will be important for Rangers, then, but so will the style of play they choose to adopt. Kilmarnock’s threat on the counter comes from the fact that they have players like Jordan Jones who are comfortable driving forward with the ball - only Celtic attempt more dribbles per 90 minutes on average - and also because the Rugby Park side are effective at shooting from distance.

45% of Kilmarnock’s efforts on goal this season have come from outside the box, so the Rangers defence must be quick to close down their opponents if they want to leave Ayrshire with all three points. Clarke’s side aren’t too dangerous from wide positions; only Hamilton have hit fewer crosses in the league this season, and Kilmarnock aren’t particularly effective at converting crosses. Closing down players centrally is a must for Rangers but they shouldn’t have to worry too much about the prospect of a dangerous cross into the box.

Conversely, Rangers could find a lot of joy themselves by peppering the Kilmarnock area with deliveries of their own, which implies that Rangers would be best served by employing a wide formation of their own. Gerrard’s side hit more crosses per game than any other side in the division and Kilmarnock actually struggle a bit in dealing with these. Clarke’s side win just 41% of their headers: only St Mirren (39%) have a poorer record in this regard.

A quarter of Kilmarnock’s league goals conceded this season have came via opposition headers and this is clearly an area of the pitch where Clarke’s side are vulnerable. Neither Morelos or Defoe are particularly prolific in the air, but both strikers have excellent movement and are capable of peeling away from their marker. James Tavernier and Daniel Candeias have already shown this season that they are two of the best crossers of the ball in the Premiership; if they can keep this up, they could be the difference for Rangers on Wednesday night.

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When the ball is on the deck, there is no Premiership side better equipped than Kilmarnock at winning it back. Clarke’s defence win 25% of their defensive duels, the highest rate in the league. Gerrard clearly likes his team to get balls in the box more often than not and this could prove crucial to Rangers’ chances of getting a win.

It should be an entertaining game and the clash at Rugby Park could prove to be an extremely important one as the title run-in begins. Rangers will be desperate to continue where they left off at the end of last month, while a win for Kilmarnock would add further weight to their own unlikely title charge. This is exactly the sort of fixture that Rangers simply must win if they are serious about ending Celtic’s dominance of the Premiership and for all the wonders that Clarke has worked at Rugby Park since he arrived, there are still areas of the pitch where his side look vulnerable. It is now up to Gerrard to exploit those weaknesses.