Rangers host Belgian side Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday night hoping to continue their unbeaten run in all competitions and book their place into the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Liege travel to Ibrox knowing that anything but a win would knock them out of the competition.
Match preview
© Reuters
Steven Gerrard was pleased with the mentality and professionalism shown by his Rangers side in the 4-0 victory over Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup on Sunday.
The Gers boss also expressed his excitement for the future of the club as he gave 18-year-old Ciaran Dickson and 16-year-old Leon King their senior debuts.
Gerrard is likely to rotate once again as his side turn their attention back to the Europa League with hopes of confirming their qualification for the knockout stages.
Rangers face Standard Liege having won five of their seven previous meetings with Belgian opponents in all competitions, winning all three at home by an aggregate score of 9-3.
A win for the Gers will guarantee their progression from the group stages in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2005-06 Champions League and 2006-07 UEFA Cup.
© Reuters
Standard Liege have given themselves hope of qualifying from Group D after beating Lech Poznan 2-0 last week.
Les Rouches had lost their first three Europa League matches but victory last Thursday moved them within five points of both Benfica and their next opponents Rangers.
Liege's only previous visit to Ibrox was back in the 1961-62 European Cup quarter-final, with the Belgian side losing 2-0 but progressing 4-3 on aggregate.
Standard Liege have a poor record away from home in the Europa League, winning just one of their last 19 away games – losing 13 and drawing the remaining five.
Philippe Montanier's side, who have drawn their last three league matches, must win in Scotland if they are to progress to the next round.
Rangers Europa League form: WWDD
Rangers form (all competitions): WDWWDW
Standard Liege Europa League form: LLLW
Standard Liege form (all competitions): WLDDWD
Team News
© Reuters
Rangers defender Filip Helander is unavailable as he has tested positive for coronavirus.
Midfielders Joe Aribo and Ryan Jack, who have missed the previous two matches, remain doubtful after suffering knocks.
Steven Gerrard is likely to make changes from the side that beat Falkirk on Sunday, with attackers Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent set to replace Jermain Defoe and Cedric Itten.
Liege striker Obbi Oulare is suspended as he was shown a red card against Lech Poznan. As a result, Maxime Lestienne and Michel Ange Balikwisha are likely to start together up front.
Gojko Cimirot is set to play alongside Nicolas Raskin and Samuel Bastien in midfield.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barasic; Kamara, Davies, Arfield; Hagi, Morelos, Kent
Standard Liege possible starting lineup:
Bodart; Fai, Dussenne, Bokadi, Laifis, Gavory; Raskin, Cimirot, Bastian; Lestienne, Balikwisha
We say: Rangers 3-0 Standard Liege
Liege, who have not won an away match in the Europa League since 2016, still have a slim chance of progressing to the knockout stages, however they come up against a strong Rangers outfit who should win comfortably on Thursday night.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 66.24%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for Standard Liege had a probability of 12.43%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.93%) and 2-1 (9.19%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.84%), while for a Standard Liege win it was 0-1 (5.27%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 1.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.
