Three FC Ufa stars that Rangers need to prepare for ahead of their Europa League clash.
Rangers host Russian club FC Ufa on Thursday night in the Europa League qualifying play-offs and are on the verge of reaching the groups stages of the competition.
The Light Blues just need to come through one more two-legged qualifying tie, with FK Shkupi, NK Osijek and Maribor previous opponents they have already beaten this season.
Steven Gerrard has enjoyed a brilliant start to life as manager at Ibrox and returning to Europe would be a step in the right direction.
The Scottish giants will surely want to make the most of their home tie on Thursday night, but what can Rangers fans expect from fairly unknown opponents Ufa?
Here are three of the stand out players in the Russian’s side that Rangers will need to be wary of:
Ivan Paurevic
Paurevic, 27, is a defensive midfielder that is a regular in the Ufa starting XI and has been in good form at the start of the season.
The Croatian is a 6ft 4in colossus that provides a serious physical presence in the centre of the park and the Rangers midfield will need to be ready for a battle against him.
He has previously been on the books at Premier League side Huddersfield and will be one of the players that could pose a threat to Gerrard’s team.
Sly
Sly provides some of the attacking firepower for Ufa and they will be desperate to snatch an away goal at Ibrox.
The 27-year-old speed machine could catch Rangers on the counter attack and can play anywhere across the forward line.
He’s already been directly involved in four goals in eight appearances so far this season and the Nigeria international may be their best chance for a goal.
Aleksandr Belenov
Belenov is the number one goalkeeper for Russian top-flight club Ufa and is surely going to be busy on Thursday night.
The 31-year-old shot-stopper already has three clean sheets in his eight appearances so far this season, while he has experience in European football.
Gerrard’s side have not exactly been blowing teams away so far this season and may need to be clinical against Belenov.
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