Glasgow Rangers travel to Croatia for the first-leg before returning to Ibrox for the second-leg next week.
The first-leg of Rangers’ Europa League second round qualifier sees Steven Gerrard’s men travel to Croatia to face Osijek this week after the Gers saw off Shkupi in the first round earlier this month.
The Light Blues made life slightly difficult for themselves in Macedonia, but did get the job done and Gerrard will be hoping to see improvement from his side on Thursday as they face a side that has never been relegated from Croatia’s top flight and reached the play-off round of the Europa League last season.
It promises to be a tough night for Rangers, but it may also be an evening that sees Gerrard make a handful of changes and hand debuts to two of his new signings.
Scott Arfield missed the Gers’ last game due to injury so may not be risked this week. Instead, Lassana Coulibaly may move straight into the middle of the park, alongside Ryan Jack. Ovie Ejaria may perhaps feel that he is pushing for a starting spot, but Gerrard may prefer Coulibaly’s combative attributes in the middle initially before bringing the Liverpool loanee on to use his flair as the game potentially opens up.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Morelos’ struggles in pre-season so far may tempt Gerrard to pick Umar Sadiq to lead the line. The youngster will be raring to go having joined the club a fortnight ago.
Like Morelos, Josh Windass has struggled this summer so perhaps he may also be rested initially against Osijek. Daniel Candeias has featured in the middle under Gerrard, but perhaps he may revert to a more familiar position on the right. Or Gerrard could perhaps roll the dice and hand Glenn Middleton his first start after a very bright run of form. The fact that Ryan Kent could perhaps be included in the squad as a wildcard means his situation is certainly one to keep an eye on also.
With that in mind, here is a look at the predicted lineup for the first-leg in full…
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