Rangers and Hibs have different injury problems to deal with which impacts on the make up of the sides which meet today.

Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen knows that his defence will be under pressure today as Rangers head to Easter Road for an eagerly awaited SPL game. The fact that full-backs Kevin McCann and Thierry Gathuessi are out injured does give him a bit of a problem in the circumstances. However, Sol Bamba is available again after suspension and he does have Scotland striker Steven Fletcher available after he recovered from a virus. However, striker Colin Nish is doubtful after picking up an ankle injury in the 1-0 win over Hamilton last weekend. Paatelainen was pleased with Hibs' clean sheet in last weekend's 1-0 triumph at Hamilton, with a second-half rearguard effort required to take all three points. And the big Finn is keen for another solid display against the SPL leaders. He said: "Against any team - look at Hamilton in the second half - you must be able to defend. Certainly, against the Old Firm, they will always come out and attack, and they feel confident because they are up there and scoring goals with quality players. We must be able to defend well if we are to take anything from the game. It won't be easy because they are a quality team and are league leaders on merit. They are winning consistently and making it difficult for everybody."

Rangers travel to Easter Road on the back of an impressive unbeaten run and a new-found reputation for attacking football. Having done away with last-season's controversial counter-attacking style Rangers have recorded six wins and one draw in their last seven league and cup outings. Walter Smith has Andrius Velicka and Lee McCulloch available for selection again after recovering from a bug and a knee injury respectively. Smith admits he has still has some experimenting to do as he bids to find his strongest team. The Ibrox club have found a run of form following their shock European exit to FBK Kaunas. Pedro Mendes has added a creative spark to the midfield since his £3million signing from Portsmouth last month, while Steve Davis' permanent move from Fulham has also strengthened that department. But Smith is keen to give everyone in his squad a chance to stake their claim, with Lee McCulloch, Andrius Velicka and Kenny Miller all returning to fitness. Barry Ferguson and Steven Smith are also battling to regain fitness following injury, while Rangers hope an injection will cure Steven Whittaker's knee problem.

The Rangers manager said: "We still have a few to look at. Take Kyle Lafferty for example. He has had a few problems. He had a bad back injury, a hamstring injury and illness, so he has been in and out of our squad and missed a bit of training. We still have players to settle down and see what they can do. We maybe have a bit of tweaking to go. We have a big squad of players now and we don't have the number of matches we would have hoped to have, without European football. I wouldn't say it was settled down entirely - we have Barry Ferguson to come back from injury too. We have got a big squad and we have got to be fair to everyone. There will be games where some players will benefit against certain types of opposition. That's just down to me to choose which I think is best."
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