As Rangers prepare to face Aris Limassol the match represents a surprise opportunity for interim Ibrox manager Steven Davis.
Whilst the Rangers legend has been coy on the suggestion he could take the vacant manager’s job full time – and let’s be clear he very likely won’t – the Ulsterman has a real chance to at the very least prove his credentials as he realises his Ibrox ambitions.
A Rangers Hall of Famer and one of the most respected figures in the club’s modern history, it’s Steven Davis who will lead the side v Aris Limassol in a match that the 38-year-old will always remember.
The preparations for the Europa League trip to Cyprus have been far from ideal given Rangers go into the match off the back of Michael Beale’s sacking.
But the onus will be on the makeshift management team to take three points from the weakest team in Rangers’ Europa League group and build on what was largely a surprise home victory against Real Betis.
A positive result in this match will prime the double header with Sparta Prague perfectly and whilst no-one will blame Steven Davis if it goes wrong, we’re sure the Rangers icon will be doing everything in his power to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Heading into the match Rangers were boosted by the presence of both Nicolas Raskin and Kemar Roofe on the flight to face Aris Limassol.
But supplementing that with the news that Ryan Jack is out of the clash, a threadbare Ibrox midfield is probably going to need to call on the Belgian.
The only other change from the weekend’s devastating result will see Europa League squad absentee Ridvan Yilmaz drop out of the side and Croatian international Borna Barisic return.
Aris Limassol v Rangers (Europa League) – predicted XI (4-3-2-1)
GK – Jack Butland
DR – James Tavernier
DC – Connor Goldson
DC – Ben Davies
DL – Borna Barisic
CM – John Lundstram
CM – Jose Cifuentes
CM – Nicolas Raskin
RF – Sam Lammers
LF – Abdallah Sima
ST – Cyriel Dessers
Where to watch Rangers’ Europa League clash in Cyprus
Rangers’ match with AEL Limassol is set to kick off at the earlier time of 17:45GMT with the clash taking place at the Alphamega Stadium in Kolossi, Cyprus.
The match will be shown live by broadcaster TNT Sport with coverage of the match starting at 17:00GMT on TNT Sport 3.
