Rangers are preparing to face off against Borussia Dortmund for a place in the Europa League last 16, with much of the pre-match coverage surrounding the absence of Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker might only be 21, but he is already regarded as amongst the top strikers in European football and is a relentless, goalscoring machine for the BVB.
But whilst the absence of Erling Haaland is sure to be felt by Borussia Dortmund at Ibrox, the ex-Salzburg striker is not going to be the only one missing for the Germans against Rangers.
French centre-back Dan Axel-Zagadou – who by anyone’s interpretation had a shocker in the 4-2 Rangers victory at Signal Iduna Park – will miss a couple of weeks with torn muscle fibre [BVB Buzz].
This is after he hobbled out of Dortmund’s ominous 6-0 thrashing of Bundesliga rivals Borussia Monchengladbach in the aftermath of the Gers’ victory last week.
Interestingly, Swiss centre-back Manuel Akanji is also set to be missing for Dortmund with a similar issue after being subbed off in the first leg defeat to Rangers.
This means Borussia Dortmund do have issues at centre-back with German veteran Mats Hummels, the returning Emre Can (who was suspended for the first leg), versatile Croatian loanee Marin Pongračić and traditional left-back Nico Schulz as the options at the back.
Giovanni Reyna – the highly rated American teen and namesake of Rangers manager van Bronckhorst – also limped out of that victory over Monchengladbach.
Whilst his exit from the pitch was teary eyed, the youngster only just returning from a lengthy lay-off, the news is that Reyna will only miss a matter of weeks, not months, meaning the Rangers clash comes too soon.
Six out and one doubt for Dortmund v Rangers
Belgian international full-back Thomas Meunier has travelled with the squad but hasn’t played since the clash with Leverkusen at the beginning of the month due to a knock.
German veteran full-back Marcel Schmelzer (knee) and young Spanish right-back Mateu Moray (cruciate) remain long-term absentees.
But don’t let Dortmund’s absences full you; Rangers will be without plenty first-team talent of their own for the clash at Ibrox.
Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander and Aaron Ramsey head the list of Ibrox absentees and would’ve probably been involved in some capacity if fit.
It promises to be an iconic match at Ibrox Stadium and here’s how we’re tipping Rangers to line up against Borussia Dortmund.
