Interim Rangers boss Graeme Murty admits Bruno Alves' absence is a blow but says youngster David Bates has a great chance to show his quality.

Speaking to Rangers TV, Murty said: “Bruno picked up a knock on Wednesday night, which is unfortunate as I thought he was outstanding, but it’s an opportunity for David to step up and shine.

“We’ll miss Bruno, but as I’ve said to all the boys, we need to go and grasp these opportunities and back up a good performance from Wednesday by putting in a proper performance today.

“We’ve shown loads of stuff they did really well on Wednesday - and some things Aberdeen did really well.

“They’re hungry to get on with it and I just hope they turn up with the same level of intensity and quality as they did on Wednesday.

“We do expect a reaction from Aberdeen. They will possibly come out with a point to prove, but that’s good as it makes it a big occasion and a good game.

"Then we find out if our players can sustain that level of performance, because, if they can, it puts us in a really good place to go on and enjoy the rest of the season.”

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Aberdeen legend Willie Miller and former Rangers striker Billy Dodds have joined host Richard Gordon to give their views on this one.

Follow the link at the top of this page to listen online, or tune your wireless to 810 MW or 92-95 Fm for all the build-up and live commentary of the match.

Aberdeen, for their part, show three changes from the side beaten 3-0 at Ibrox in midweek.

Two are enforced, with on-loan Celtic man Ryan Christie suspended after being sent off in Glasgow, and fellow midfielder Greg Tansey missing out through injury.

Defender Kari Arnason is dropped to the bench, manager Derek McInnes going on the offensive by replacing that trio with Greg Stewart, Adam Rooney and Scott Wright.

With Stevie May retained up front too, it will be intriguing what formation McInnes adopts with those four attackers.

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Murty is missing Portugal centre-half Bruno Alves, who is back on the sidelines, having picked up an injury in training after helping Rangers to that midweek win over the Dons.

David Bates, the 21-year-old who last played in July, makes only his second start of the season.

That would suggest that Ross McCrorie, who stepped forward to impress in a holding midfield role, will be given that task again.

Top scorer Alfredo Morelos is missing from the starting line-up again but is at least fit enough for the bench as he recovers from a hip injury sustained against Dundee that kept him out the squad in midweek.

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This will be the sixth game of Graeme Murty's second spell as Rangers' caretaker boss. The fact he's second favourite behind Derek McInnes for the role on a permanent basis suggests he's doing something right.

His record so far? Won three, drawn two. By far the most impressive of those wins was Wednesday's 3-0 victory over Aberdeen at Ibrox, after which Murty said Rangers had now set a "benchmark".

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Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, Shinnie, Considine, O'Connor, McLean, Stewart, Rooney, Wright, McKenna, May.

Substitutes: Rogers, Reynolds, Maynard, Arnason, Ball, Harvie, Ross.

Rangers: Foderingham, Tavernier, Wilson, Bates, John, McCrorie, Holt, Jack, Pena, Windass, Miller.

Substitutes: Alnwick, Hodson, Cardoso, Barjonas, Candeias, Herrera, Morelos.

Never mind what I think, what about you, the fans?

Do you think Derek McInnes will become Rangers manager? And even if reports that he will be officially approached this week are true, would he definitely take the job? Or will he stay at Aberdeen?

If it's not to be McInnes, who else would be best suited to the job?

Tweet us @BBCSportScot, external using the hashtag #Rangersboss, or visit our BBC Scotland Sport Facebook, external page to give us your thoughts.

Derek McInnes will once again be centre of attention today, whether he likes it or not.

It is 38 days now since Rangers sacked Pedro Caixinha as manager, and in those five-or-so weeks, the Aberdeen boss has remained as the front-runner to take over - in the bookies' eyes at least.

McInnes attempted to dampen down the speculation last week, insisting "I'm happy here, I've said that all along. This is where I see myself."

But that speculation has only heightened since the Rangers AGM on Thursday, when chairman Dave King told shareholders that "our short-listed candidates include individuals presently under contract".

McInnes called the issue a sideshowon Friday, but newspaper reports this morning suggest Rangers will officially approach Aberdeen this week. He is odds-on for the job with all major bookmakers. Make of that what you will.

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Morning all.

With the third installment of the Celtic-Motherwell trilogy done and dusted, today brings a sequel to this week's Aberdeen-Rangers drama, with their second Scottish Premiership meeting in five days.

As usual when these two meet, there's plenty of intrigue involved...

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