Hibs v Rangers: Emotional night at Easter Road, deserves TV coverage, Hearts opportunity, test for Ibrox duo

Hibs v Rangers is a fixture which has routinely produced the goods down the years, whether it be in Glasgow or Edinburgh. Already this season we have witnessed a five-goal thriller at Ibrox where the visitors lost despite twice taking the lead and a captivating 2-2 draw at Easter Road featuring two red cards for the away side and a thrilling finish with Josh Campbell netting one of the goals of the season deep into stoppage time.

In the last eight years there have been 95 goals in 27 matches. There has been a 6-2, 6-1, 5-5, 4-2 and countless 3-2s – the most famous being Hibs’ Scottish Cup triumph in 2016 – as well as a League Cup semi-final which saw Martin Boyle net a first-half hat-trick at Hampden Park. This is a fixture which has featured plenty of needle and animosity, wonder goals and comedy performances. It is the fixture which provoked an on-field aeroplane from Neil Lennon when he was in charge in Leith.

Therefore it was somewhat of a surprise when it was rescheduled for a Champions League midweek and no live coverage from Sky Sports. The broadcaster, it should be noted, are limited to four games from each Premiership ground per season as part of the TV deal with the SPFL and have only one fixture remaining at Easter Road. This is a game which deserves a captive audience as Rangers boss Michael Beale suggested, even more so considering what has transpired over the days and weeks since it was originally due to be played, on the weekend of the Viaplay Cup final. There are so many elements at play.

Gordon tribute

The meeting at Easter Road on Wednesday night, available on PPV, is going to be an emotional one off the field, the first home game for Hibs since chairman Ron Gordon lost his battle with cancer. The club have planned a pre-match tribute, encouraging fans to take their seats earlier than normal.

"I think it can feed into the fans and we can use that for the event and focus on ourselves knowing that is what Ron would want us to do," defender Chris Cadden said. “He just loved Hibs and wanted the boys to do well, he was really positive as well. My overriding memory is that Ron was just a good guy. Hopefully we can beat Rangers and pay a proper tribute."

The hope is the visiting support show the necessary respect which was missing during a minute’s applause for the American-based businessman prior to the League Cup final when a number of the 20,000+ support disrupted it. On the field, the game is massive for both clubs. Rangers continue to try and make a dent in the nine-point deficit to rivals Celtic. All the while, things are far from rosy amongst the club's support. The club’s hierarchy has come under severe criticism with banners in the stands and every tweet posted by the club bombarded with responses urging for the removal of Stewart Robertson and Ross Wilson, the managing and sporting director respectively.

Their only domestic defeat was to Celtic but such a defeat was always likely to ramp up the pressure and scrutiny on the all levels of the club. Under Beale, the team have been otherwise perfect. It was thought they may come unstuck on their last visit to the Capital. That night at Tynecastle Park they put in their most complete performance. Easter Road is the next big test for a side in the midst of a transition under a new manager and will provide an opportunity to the likes of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin to prove they are the future of the Rangers midfield.

When Hibs and Rangers entertainment usualy follows . (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Hearts opportunity

For Hibs, with Hearts travelling to Celtic, where they haven’t won in 23 attempts since 2009, it is an opportunity to record a statement win and close the gap to their city rivals. Lee Johnson’s men are in a better place since their previous two meetings with Rangers. There is a better balance to a side which has now got greater depth and quality. That progress was seen at the weekend. They conceded an early goal to Livingston but responded positively and were by far the better side in a comfortable 4-1 victory.

"When Livingston scored, the feeling I got on the park was that we were going to turn it around,” Cadden said. “I just looked at the other boys and knew it wasn't over. Everyone was relaxed and knew what we had to do and in the end we turned it around and it was a really good performance.

"The gaffer is big on stats and it's there in black and white – there's no hiding from it. He shows us stats quite a lot, like our running stats every single day, and the output is good so we need to keep trusting in what he says.

Rangers fans protest against members of the club's board. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

"You're in a different headspace when you're on a bad run. You might lose the first goal and you're thinking, 'Aw no, not this again'. I don't know what the changearound was, there just wasn't a panic this time. When you've got boys like Élie Youan and he's in good form, that makes it easier."

That resilience shown at Livingston is part of an increased confidence and bullishness. Johnson confirmed the team will have a go on Wednesday night and it is an approach the players are enjoying.

"If you're going out against any team thinking you can't compete or match them up then there's no point turning up," Cadden said. “We're going to turn up at Easter Road, we're going to play our style of game, and we're going to do what we know we can do. We've got a lot of quality in the changing room but if you turn up thinking you're already beaten what's the point? You have to believe you can get the result, and we do."