Hibs Correspondent John Greechan delivers a Tactics Zone Preview Special ahead of Hibs v Rangers, asking whether David Gray's men can succeed where Celtic failed.
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00:00Welcome to this Tactics Zone special.
00:02Today we'll be looking at how Hibs can succeed where Celtic failed yesterday,
00:06by taking down a resurgent Rangers.
00:08Can David Gray's men avoid falling into the same traps that ensnared the league leaders?
00:13And where can the home side hurt the visitors to Easter Road?
00:16Rangers press very effectively as a unit.
00:19They certainly managed to lead Celtic down some blind alleys yesterday.
00:23Expect a similar approach against Hibs.
00:26The opening goal yesterday comes from Rangers laying a trap in midfield.
00:30With options further up the park cut off,
00:33they are begging for the ball to be played into that dangerous area.
00:36If Hibs are going to play through midfield,
00:38they need to be accurate and aware of the risks.
00:42Of particular interest to Hibs will be using their wingbacks to attack down both flanks.
00:47It's been a real strength of the team since changing formation.
00:50But Rangers are very eager to cut off advances down the wing at source.
00:54This actually leads to their third goal.
00:56Going wide is usually a safe ball.
00:59But you need to be accurate, or go longer if under pressure,
01:02as Hibs did at Ibrox earlier in the season.
01:05Rangers will take risks in pursuit of reward.
01:08Had Celtic managed to get first contact on this ball,
01:11they would have been on a counterattack with numbers.
01:14Look through games this season and you will see that Rangers are regularly caught in transition,
01:18as these snapshots of the goals conceded at Motherwell show.
01:22Hibs have improved dramatically since their unlucky 1-0 loss at Ibrox back in September.
01:27With space to be found out wide,
01:29they will get chances to hit Rangers where it hurts.
01:32If they have key men fit and they avoid the obvious traps.