Rangers warmed up for their trip to Armenia by defeating Ross County 4-2 but how did Europa League Playoff rivals Alashkert fair this weekend?
The Ibrox club knows that nothing other than qualification for the group stages of the European football’s second-tier competition will be considered an abject failure.
The Gers lead 1-0 from the first leg of the tie with Alfredo Morelos’ goal sparing the blushes of 10-man Rangers who’d been let down by a first half John Lundstram red card.
Rangers certainly looked like they were on their way to being back to their best this weekend but Alashkert didn’t fare quite so well in their clash against Junior Sevan.
The two sides played out a 0-0 draw with Alashkert as they made four changes from the side that fell to Rangers at Ibrox last week.
The Armenian Champions last season, Alashkert are yet to find a victory in three attempts this season and their dismal form leaves them 9th of 10 sides in the division.
To add insult to injury, Alashkert are also without a goal in their domestic division this season and Rangers should be confident heading to Armenia this week.
The Gers face a daunting 7000-mile round trip to play Alashkert on Thursday before returning to gear up for the first Old Firm derby of the season against Celtic at Ibrox.
With both sides starting the season with two victories and one defeat, Rangers can help halt growing momentum at Parkhead by securing three points.
However, before concentration turns to the Old Firm, for financial and reputational reasons it’s quite simply imperative that the club take care of business against Alashkert first.
The travel won’t be the only obstacle to Rangers’ success out East either as one other major factor lies in wait this week.
