Rangers have arrived in Greece to take on a side who most of the team will be familiar with having encountered Olympiacos in pre-season last summer.
Sitting just one place below the Gers in the Europa League league phase table, despite losing Yusuf Yazici to injury, they will be a difficult opponent for Philippe Clement, especially away from Ibrox.
The manager knows how important three points could be for his squad, not just for momentum, but for morale too and here are three things we noticed from the training ground as a potentially pivotal fixture in the Europa League looms.
Three things that were spotted at Rangers training
The footage, released by Rangers on X and available on YouTube is the standard material. The players are put through their paces in the warm-up before taking part in a bit of ball work – a far cry from Michael Beale’s tactical sessions being on display.
Is Dujon Sterling in the huff?
Dujon Sterling is pushing James Tavernier harder than he has since arriving at Rangers last summer and wouldn’t surprise anyone if he starts against Olympiacos.
Despite this, Alan Hutton and Michael Stewart both felt that Sterling didn’t look happy during Rangers win over Motherwell.
In this video, he is twice pulled up; once to hurry up and join the group and, on another occasion, to pick up his work rate.
The 24-year old always has a sultry demeanour which means this is probably a 2 + 2 = 5 kind of situation, although Clement has urged Sterling to “prove himself” in the coming weeks.
Alex Lowry becoming the forgotten man of Auchenhowie
There is no sign of Alex Lowry anywhere. Once linked with clubs in the Premier League, Lowry didn’t play for the B team against Partick Thistle in the Glasgow Cup and he isn’t training with the senior team either.
Given his talent and potential, it is incredible how far his stock has fallen.
The 21-year old only needs to look at Ross McCausland to see the opportunities that are available if work rate and attitude become personal priorities.
Things improving on the injury front?
Ridvan Yilmaz and Rabbi Matondo have been taking part in some of the sessions so far, but both will be woefully short of match fitness, the former was spotted getting on the place to Greece though.
Despite probably losing their status as first choice players, Clement gave a positive injury update ahead of the clash with Olympiacos including the pair.
As yet though, there is no sign of Oscar Cortes, even in the warm-up phase of the training.
