New faces, old friends and pace to burn - what's your Hibs XI for Rangers clash?

Hibs welcome Rangers to Easter Road for their first Scottish Premiership game of 2024 tonight. And Nick Montgomery expects to have both of his January signings available for the clash.

Montgomery hopes to see Myziane Maolida and Emiliano Marcondes involved at some stage. Despite Marcondes only training with the team for the first time yesterday, the manager sees no risk in dropping him straight into a competitive fixture.

“He’s not fazed by anything,” said Monty. “He has had a good career and now he’s 28 years old and, for me, he should be in his prime for the next three or four years.

“For us to get a player of that quality, what is really good is that he wanted to come. He could’ve gone to a lot of other clubs, and he had a lot of options, but it was up to me to convince him with the direction I want this club to go, the fact that he can really help us achieve what we want.

“But he had to really want to come because financially the players we have brought in, we can’t compete with their salaries or with other clubs, so it was important that the players wanted to come.

“They were both in the situation, after I spoke to them, that they were really keen to make it happen, as were their representatives as well. That was an important piece of the puzzle. They looked into the club, and the way we are playing, and what I want to do here, and that is why they ultimately decided to come.”

Montgomery, who said he expects Rangers to continue playing more direct and aggressive football under Philippe Clement, will not have any of his long-term injured available again. Here’s how Hibs are likely to line up: