RANGERS return to domestic action this afternoon when managerless Dundee United visit Ibrox.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men come into the game off the back of three successive defeats, conceding 11 goals and scoring none.

With five points separating the Light Blues from Celtic at the Premiership summit, three points are a must.

Here are the three big issues facing Rangers ahead of the game.

Does the performance matter?

There is no doubt about it, this is a ‘must-win’ game for Rangers. Three points must be delivered given the recent struggles and five-point gap that’s emerged at the top of the table.

But, the manner of recent defeats, particularly Celtic and Ajax and laboured performances against others have increased doubts among many supporters that this squad isn’t equipped for the challenges ahead.

The players need to deliver a performance that allays those fears and gives some encouragement heading into the international break. The fans want to be entertained, something they’ve not been on a number of occasions this season.

A narrow victory would provide three valuable points but it won’t dispel the doubts.

Who starts in goal?

It remains to be seen if Jon McLaughlin is fit enough to be considered for a starting slot given injury ruled him out of Wednesday night’s Champions League defeat by Napoli.

Allan McGregor produced a stunning display in his absence with two penalty saves and other top blocks. It’s increased calls for him to regain the No.1 jersey and it’s hard to argue with that. Long term he’s not the answer but for the here and now, the 40-year-old has certainly earned a starting role.

Rangers Review:

Will we see Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz?

With the substantial outlay spent on both players, around the £8m mark. It’s been somewhat of a mystery as to why we’ve not seen more of the summer acquisitions from Liverpool and Besiktas respectively.

In Davies' case, injury has hampered his initial start. When quizzed why he decided to bring Leon King on as a substitute instead of Davies on Wednesday night, Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst said: "Why do I have to talk about Ben Davies?

"He’s been injured. He's just back in training. I put players in who I think are ready to play and that's why I put Leon in first. He's developing really well and played really well in the second half against Ajax and that's why I put him in and Ben didn't start.”

You’d like to think he’d be fit enough to feature against Dundee United at Ibrox while Ridvan’s lack of game time may be attributed to the fact Borna Barisic has been playing relatively well.

That being said, Rangers won’t want such a big outlay warming the bench so the match against the Premiership strugglers should be an ample opportunity to showcase his talents.