After beating Wrexham in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, Rangers Colts have been drawn against Inverness in the semi-finals. The team avoided Partick Thistle and Raith Rover’s in the draw (BBC).
However, Inverness is the highest-ranked seed out of the potential opponents. They sit fourth in the Scottish Championship while Partick Thistle sit 10th (Sky Sports). Raith Rovers are second in the Scottish League One (Sky Sports). But how good are Inverness?
TIF Tactics – What do Rangers need to know about Inverness?
From looking at data from Inverness is 2019/2020 season we can begin to see what kind of team they are. Averaging 1.58 goals per game, the Scottish side are potent going forward. They have an average xG (expected goals) of 1.43 per game. They outscore their xG, indicated that they are clinical in front of goal. The Championship side averages 13.42 shots per game, however, only have a shooting accuracy of 36%. While their shooting accuracy is quite low, they still outscore their xG. This suggests that they aren’t afraid to take shots from unlikely positions.
But when looking at the team’s defensive statistics we see a similar pattern. With their opponents having an average xG of 1.06 goals per game, Inverness concede 1.25 goals per game on average. They concede 11.08 shots per game, 36.8% of which are on target. So, while the team is great going forward, they concede more goals then they are expected to.
If we compare their goals for versus their goals against, it appears at Inverness are capable of outscoring the teams that they play. They only averaged 52.15% of possession per game, indicating that they are not a team that commands an excessive amount of time on the ball. But with them only averaging 1.83 counter-attacks per game, 27.3% of which results in a shot, they are not a counter-attacking team either.
If these statistics are to be an indication of how the match versus Rangers Colts will play out, it could point towards a back-and-forth game. We can perhaps expect to see the teams going up and down the field in an attempt to score with both teams creating multiple goal-scoring opportunities. It could be the toughest opposition yet for Graeme Murty’s side, and it sounds like it will make for pleasurable viewing.
(all data and stats from Wyscout.com, accurate at the time of writing)