Gareth McAuley vs Carlos Bacca is going to be one of the most important clashes of the night on Thursday.
Rangers and Villarreal are getting set to face each other in a group-defining clash at Ibrox in the Europa League. A win for Rangers and they’re just about guaranteed qualification. A win for the La Liga side, however, and they will be confirmed last-32 participants.
Steven Gerrard’s men got a respectable 2-2 draw in Spain the last time the sides met. In truth, these two teams have drawn all three matches between them in their history. Another one of those wouldn’t be too ideal, but also wouldn’t be the worst result either.
In order for Rangers to get anything positive out of this, however, they need to keep Bacca quiet this time.
The Colombian forward is bound to be out for revenge after the last meeting. Villarreal’s number one striker missed a host of big chances in the draw back in match-day one. Despite opening the scoring in the first minute, he should’ve had so much more on the night.
But for Allan McGregor, it could’ve been a more bruising result than the glorious point Rangers got.
The Rangers goalkeeper had to be in fine form as both Connor Goldson and Joe Worrall struggled to deal with Bacca. His movement was a constant problem for the Rangers pairing, who were making their debut as a partnership.
First start in Europe?
This Thursday night could see McAuley make his first start in European competition for Rangers. His job, and it goes without saying, will be to keep Bacca a lot quieter than he was in Spain.
It’s important to remember that McAuley is a lot more experienced at this kind of game than any of Rangers’ other centre-backs. He’s come up against strikers such as Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Sergio Aguero. He’s also managed clean sheets against top-class opposition such as those.
Therefore, he has to be the man Gerrard entrusts to play alongside Goldson on Thursday night. He can consider it a successful night if Villarreal’s Colombian forward remains quiet.
So much of the pre-match build-up is on the importance of Alfredo Morelos and the Rangers tempo going forward. Villarreal, however, are going to be quick on the counter-attack, with Bacca key to that.
One aspect that could play into Rangers’ hands, however, is the fact that Bacca hasn’t started since returning from injury. In fact, his only appearance was a half-hour cameo against Real Betis at the weekend. His last goal for the club actually came against Rangers.
Other options for Villarreal include the likes of Gerard Moreno and Karl Toko Ekambi. If he’s fit and ready, however, Bacca will be the man to slot in.
Who would your centre-back pairing be on Thursday night?
