Heart & Hand’s David Edgar has shared his views as Badredine Bouanani makes the Rangers bench against Hearts.

Derek McInnes handed a start to the Algerian winger in the 4-0 win against St Johnstone on Saturday, and his performance did not merit him being dropped for the game at Tynecastle.

David Edgar believes Badredine Bouanani is unlucky to be dropped from the Rangers eleven

Edgar has agreed with McInnes on 10 out of the 11 players in the lineup, but believes he’s got it wrong by starting Gassama. In his view, the Algerian winger will be unlucky to see himself not being named in the starting eleven.

He wrote on X: “Think Bouanani is a bit unlucky but otherwise that’s the team expected.”

Bouanani played the full 90 minutes at the weekend and was a constant thorn in the St Johnstone side. The Rangers players kept on finding him as they knew he had it in him to make things happen in the final third.

He completed two key passes on Saturday and created one big chance in the game. The 21-year-old also progressed the ball well and combined exceptionally with the other attackers.

The Light Blues may miss his impact and will hope that Gassama can prove to be the difference maker.

Will Derek McInnes regret dropping Bouanani?

McInnes would want to go on another winning run, and the best way to do that is to play his strongest team as and when he can. Unless Bouanani is not at 100 per cent fitness, it seems bizarre as to why he’s being dropped.

In every game the winger has started, he has proven to be a threat and has shown that he can score a goal out of nothing all by himself. He’s capable of taking players on, creating chances for his teammates, and putting the ball into the back of the net.

While Gassama can do those things as well, he has not been consistent ever since joining the Gers and has only been getting game time because there have been no better options. Now that Bouanani is there, starting the Mauritania international seems like a mistake, and McInnes could regret it and make a change at half-time if things do not work out.