MATCH PREVIEW: Kick-off time for Rangers vs. Tottenham, TV channel, prediction, team news, lineups, referee & VAR
MATCH PREVIEW: Kick-off time for Rangers vs. Tottenham, TV channel, prediction, team news, lineups, referee & VAR
The Europa League offers up a Battle of Britain on Thursday night,
when Scottish giants Rangers welcome Premier League Tottenham Hotspur to Ibrox.
Both clubs are in contention to finish in the top eight of the league phase,
despite underwhelming domestically this season,
ahead of the first meeting between the two in over six decades.
Not only will this be a momentous clash between two British clubs competing for the top eight,
it also is for the fact that Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will return to Glasgow where he led Rangers’
bitter rivals Celtic to two Scottish Premiership titles.
The Aussie manager won six of his 11 Old Firm derbies in charge of Celtic,
and beat Rangers to the title in both of his seasons at the club,
so there will be no love lost from the home crowd on his return.
Postecoglou goes into this tie under increasing pressure though,
after his side threw a 2-0 lead away to lose 4-3 at home to London rivals Chelsea at the weekend.
That came just a few days after losing 1-0 on the South Coast against Bournemouth,
where the scoreline extremely flattered Spurs.
The last seven games have now yielded just one win for Tottenham,
and that came in the remarkable 4-0 success away to Manchester City,
meaning they remain in the bottom half of the Premier League.
This recent run of form has also affected their standing in the Europa League,
because Spurs have fallen out of the top eight following two disappointing results against
Galatasaray and Roma.
No team has spent longer in the lead than Spurs in the Europa League this season (276 minutes),
and they led for 80 minutes on matchday five against Roma,
but Mats Hummels’s injury-time leveller saw the Giallorossi snatch a point in North London.
On their last away trip on the continent, Postecoglou also oversaw a 3-2 defeat in Istanbul,
with another scoreline that seriously flattered Spurs, despite still losing.
The visitors will therefore hope they can maintain their unbeaten all-time record against Scottish clubs,
never tasting defeat in six previous meetings,
including winning both legs of their Cup Winners’ Cup second round tie with Rangers in 1962,
on their way to winning the competition.
Rangers will certainly be no pushovers if recent form is anything to go by though,
because manager Philippe Clement has responded to serious doubts surrounding his future at the club with
four straight wins.
After drawing 1-1 at home to Dundee United on November 23, essentially ending Rangers’ title hopes,
it appeared the Belgian may be on his way out,
but he quickly put things right by thrashing Nice away from home 4-1 on matchday five.
The three league games since have also produced three more victories, all without conceding,
and scoring 10 goals in the process against St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Ross County.
While the title may be gone, Europe could once again offer the Gers an opportunity for a successful season,
like it did in 2021-22, when they reached the final of this competition.
Only Lyon have beaten Rangers in the Europa League this term,
and their last outing at Ibrox ended in a convincing 4-0 win over FCSB.
Their tally of 12 goals so far is just one shy of their record total in the group stage of a European competition,
so facing an open and expensive Spurs team will provide them with opportunities to break that record.
This game comes at the start of a massive few days for Clement’s side though,
with a League Cup semi-final against Celtic on the horizon at the weekend,
with the two games coming up both potentially being pivotal in the direction their season goes.
Rangers Europa League form:
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Rangers form (all competitions):
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Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form:
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Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
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Team News
Rabbi Matondo has returned to Rangers training recently, but this game will likely come too soon for him, while Tom Lawrence and Oscar Cortes are also unlikely to shake off knocks in time.
For Matondo, it will be tough to see him breaking into the team on his return anyway, given the form of Hamza Igamane, who has scored four goals in four games since being handed an opportunity in the side by Clement late last month.
Neraysho Kasanwirjo is the only other injury absentee for the hosts heading into this one, with the defender’s knee injury ruling him out for around six months.
Tottenham saw both centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero forced off in the defeat to Chelsea with recurrences of the injuries that had made them doubts for that fixture.
Brennan Johnson was also taken off due to illness, and Ben Davies suffered a hamstring injury at Bournemouth a few days earlier, joining a lengthening list of absentees for the visitors.
Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore all remain out in attack, but Will Lankshear could feature after serving his European ban in the draw with Roma.
Rodrigo Bentancur should start with his current seven-game ban not applying in European matches, and Yves Bissouma may play alongside him, considering he will be suspended in the Premier League on Sunday at Southampton.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte; Raskin, Hagi; Cerny, Diomande, Igamane; Danilo
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Pedro Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Udogie; Sarr, Bentacur, Bissouma; Johnson, Lankshear, Son
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