Having stormed through qualifying, Rangers open their second consecutive appearance in the Group Stage with a home clash against Feyenoord at Ibrox.
With just three goals conceded in Qualifying, Rangers will be looking to build on the promise of last season, in which they were unlucky not to reach the knockout stages after a final group match showdown with Rapid Wien.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesRangers will be without new signing, Ryan Kent after the youngster was subbed off against Livingston on Saturday with a hamstring injury.
Jon Flanagan (hernia) and Jordan Jones (medial ligament) are ruled out whilst Ryan Jack (knee) is a doubt.
Feyenoord have no fresh injury concerns although striker, Steven Berghuis is a doubt with a slight knock despite having resumed training after sitting out their 3-2 win over ADO Den Haag on Sunday.
Stat Attack
- Rangers drew their only previous home tie against Feyenoord 1-1, although they lost the tie overall 4-3 on aggregate as Feyenoord went on to lift the 2001-02 UEFA Cup.
- Feyenoord have taken just 10 points from their last 12 group games in European competitions (W3, D1, L8)
- In each of their last two seasons, Rangers have qualified for the Group Stage with just three conceded goals in qualifying.
Prediction
There will be a sombre mood at Ibrox following the death of form Gers’ player – Fernando Ricksen but Rangers have a huge chance to honour him with a strong performance.
Feyenoord meanwhile have been inconsistently defensively which indicates that they could be vulnerable, especially if Rangers come from behind like they did at the weekend so I am going for a late home win.
Prediction: Rangers 2-1 Feyenoord
Result: Rangers 1-0 Feynoord