Villarreal ace names the Rangers player his side are wary of

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Scottish Premiership giants Rangers are set to welcome La Liga outfit Villarreal to Ibrox on Thursday for a crucial Europa League clash.

With two games to go in the Europa League group stage, Rangers’ hopes of playing continental competition in the New Year are on the line.

The Gers are currently third in Group G but level on points with Spartak Moscow and just one behind leaders Villarreal, who will travel to Ibrox for a crunch clash on Thursday.

The sides drew 2-2 in Spain back in September, goals from Scott Arfield and Kyle Lafferty earning a very impressive result for Steven Gerrard’s team. And Villarreal centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori is under no illusions about who could be the deciding factor in the return fixture in Glasgow this week.

“We know (Alfredo) Morelos is a danger and we have to be wary of him in this match. It will be tough to stop him but that’s the kind of challenge that’s attractive to me,” the former Everton defender told the Daily Record.

“This match in Glasgow will be hard for us. If we win, our future in the competition is decided.”

Colombian striker Morelos is in terrific form right now and took his tally to 16 goals in just 26 games this season in Saturday’s 3-0 win against a usually solid Livingston side at Ibrox. The former HJK Helsinki striker is just two away from matching his tally from the entirety of last season already.

So no wonder the rather error-prone Funes Mori, who scored an own goal in the recent 1-1 draw at Levante, is a little daunted about the prospect of coming up against El Bufalo.