Rangers are preparing to host Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League but it’s not the only monumental game the club has this week.
The Rangers manager insists that all eyes are on the visit of Premier League giants Tottenham, with any talk of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup Final against Celtic shelved until the final whistle.
Unlike our Old Firm rivals – who have the luxury of two extra days preparation for the clash at Hampden – Rangers will have little over 48 hours to get their heads around whatever happens on Thursday.
Ex-Rangers captain Lee McCulloch reckons Rangers are playing Tottenham at the perfect moment, with chaos enveloping the North London club.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou also expects an ‘intense reception’ when he takes his stuttering side to Glasgow.
Who will start for Rangers v Tottenham Hotspur?
From a Rangers perspective, it’s all eyes on the line-up Philippe Clement is going to go with against Europa League foes Tottenham Hotspur.
With that Celtic clash looming large on Sunday, Clement faces some big decisions with several players between the clashes in Govan and Mount Florida.
Some decisions have already been made for the Rangers manager of course; Danilo and Ianis Hagi join Rabbi Matondo in being unregistered for the competition.
Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Tom Lawrence and Oscar Cortes also won’t be fit enough to play any role in the game.
Jack Butland is a shoo-in to start between the sticks, the Rangers goalkeeper the club’s undisputed number one this season.
We’re then backing James Tavernier to start at right-back, with on-form Brazilian left-back Jefte on the other side.
At centre-back, we expect John Souttar to continue at the heart of the defence with Robin Propper coming in to replace Leon Balogun.
In midfield, a trio of Nicolas Raskin, Connor Barron and Mohamed Diomande will be given the chance to impress given the shortage of options.
We then expect Nedim Bajrami, Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny to complete the XI with that front three having a big impact against OGC Nice in France.
Deciding between Hamze Igamane and Cyriel Dessers is probably the biggest call Philippe Clement will have to make on the night, but we reckon the Moroccan’s heroics in France have earned him the start.
Rangers predicted XI v Spurs (Europa League)
GK – Jack Butland
DR – James Tavernier
DC – John Souttar
DC – Robin Propper
DL – Jefte
CDM – Nicolas Raskin
CDM – Connor Barron
CAM – Mohamed Diomande
RW – Vaclav Cerny
LW – Nedim Bajrami
ST – Hamza Igamane
