Rangers will take on Progres Niederkorn in the second round of the Europa League qualifiers after going past St. Joseph’s emphatically in the earlier round. The Gers also have a score to settle with their Luxembourg counterparts as they had beaten the Scottish side 2-1 on aggregate in 2017.
However, Rangers look a dominant side, especially after swatting aside St. Joseph’s 10-0 on aggregate. There is no doubt to us the Glaswegian giants will go in as the favourite for this tie even though recent history favours their opponents. The first leg will be held at Ibrox, and ideally, Rangers should look to wrap up the tie in the home leg itself.
Steven Gerrard should have a strong squad to choose from as almost all his players are fit and raring to go. Daniel Candeias has departed from the club recently so he would be missed.
Rangers Predicted Lineup Vs Progres Niederkorn
Formation (4-3-3)
Defence
Allan McGregor is going to start in goal once again. The club made wholesale changes for the second leg, but we expect Gerrard to go back to his strongest lineup for the first leg of the second qualifier. Therefore Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson could start in defence. Filip Helander should feature on the bench for this tie.
A lot will be expected out of Borna Barisic this season after an underwhelming first year at the Ibrox last season. The Croatian should start as a left-back. James Tavernier was one of the players who was part of the 2017 defeat, and he would look to banish those blues this time around. The captain will feature from the right side of the defence.
Midfield
One of the significant reasons for Rangers’ domination in the past few months has been because of their effective midfield play. Steven Davis is likely to start in the midfield base of three. He should be ably supported by Glen Kamara who has been phenomenal since he joined the club in January. Joe Aribo got his goal in the previous game, but we think that the manager will bring back Ryan Jack in midfield.
Attack
Jordan Jones is likely to get the nod to start on the left flank ahead of Jake Hastie. Liverpool loanee Sheyi Ojo should occupy the right-wing position. It could go either way between the two centre forwards as both Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos scored goals in the first round. We think that Gerrard might go in with Alfredo Morelos after his hattrick in the last game.
