Rangers will target two wins from two in the Europa League as they welcome Ligue 1 giants Lyon to Ibrox on Thursday night (kick-off: 8pm) for their fourth match in 13 days.
Philippe Clement’s squad enter the fixture on a four-game winning streak after Tom Lawrence’s sublime goal handed them a 1-0 win over Hibs on Sunday, though the Belgian has stressed the importance of making sure his player’s batteries don’t run dry after a gruelling schedule of fixtures.
“You look at fixtures and when they are played,” bemoaned Clement on Sunday. “There are even teams where teams don't have to play when they have to play Europe like we had with Dynamo Kiev, for example. So you play today at 12 o'clock after a European trip where you come home around 2 o'clock at Auchenhowie (Rangers’ training complex). So then you need to drive back home so players sleep, if they are lucky, around 4am.”
The Belgian is expected to without Ridvan Yilmaz, who has only recently returned to training after a thigh injury, while forward Oscar Cortes is also ruled out. Rabbi Matondo, Ianis Hagi and Danilo are all unavailable, though the trio were not included in the Gers’ Europa League squad. Mohamed Diomande is fit enough for selection after missing the weekend win against Hibs, though.
So, how is the Rangers team expected to look against Lyon tomorrow night?
The Scotsman predict the Rangers starting XI for their Europa League clash at Ibrox, using live photos from today’s training session.
9. CAM: Tom Lawrence
The Welshman has been in extremely good form of late and deserves his place in the team. Can he add to his goals against Dundee United and Hibs? | SNS Group
10. LW: Nedim Bajrami
Came off the bench at half-time at the weekend following his goal scoring exploits in Malmo. Expected to return to the team on Thursday, replacing Ross McCausland. | SNS Group
11. CF: Cyriel Dessers
The Nigerian (centre) was given some valuable rest at the weekend, with Hamza Igamane playing the bulk of the win over Hibs. As Philippe Clement's preferred number nine though, Dessers will come back into the starting XI against Lyon. | SNS Group