Rangers take on Lyon later tonight in the Gers’ final Europa League group stage game and Gers boss Gio van Bronckhorst looks set to hand opportunities to some of his fringe stars in France.
The Light Blues have already secured second place in their group and a spot in Monday’s playoff draw against the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla.
Lyon coach Peter Bosz was in charge of the Bayer Leverkusen side that knocked Rangers out of the 2019/20 Europa League, winning both round of 16 matches – with a gap of six months between the two fixtures.
The clubs have been drawn together once previously, each winning 3-0 away in the 2007/08 Champions League group stage as Walter Smith’s side pulled off a stunning win in France.
Lyon qualified for the round of 16 for the fifth successive season with their victory in Glasgow, finishing second in Group E behind Barcelona, while third-placed Rangers moved into the UEFA Cup, where they went on to reach the final against Zenit St Petersburg.
With the only real thing to play for tonight being the potential £535,000 Rangers would pocket for a win over Lyon, van Bronckhorst will almost certainly turn to some of the players who haven’t had a huge amount of minutes under him so far.
In goal, Jon McLaughlin could come in to replace Allan McGregor, denying the veteran his 100th European appearance with Nathan Patterson taking over from skipper James Tavernier at right-back.
Injuries to Fil Helander and Leon Balogun mean it will probably be as you were from the weekend for the rest of the back five with Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey and Borna Barisic all starting.
Ahead of them, Steven Davis and John Lundstram may be given the nod to anchor the midfield with Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo and Scott Wright ahead of them.
With Kemar Roofe fit again, van Bronckhorst has a few options to lead the line against the French side but Fashion Sakala is likely to be tasked with trying to break down the Lyon defence.
Here’s how we think Rangers will line up in Lyon tonight:
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