Contents
Team news and stats ahead of Lech Poznan vs Rangers in the Europa League group stage on Thursday (kick-off 5.55pm).
Team news
Bongani Zungu will make his first European start for Rangers but Ryan Jack – who has been out recently with a knee injury – will again be absent along with Filip Helander, who is now free from his Covid-19 quarantine.
Regarding his squad selection, Gerrard said: “Am I looking to protect the squad? I think you will see that in the team
selection and the squad that we have brought. Individuals will be protected. I obviously don’t want to give anything away in terms of the team but I think it will be clear that we will make decisions for the future in the team selection.
“Having said that, we will still pick a team that we believe is very strong and pick a team that has individuals in who have been waiting patiently. We think it is a really important night for a lot of different reasons. I am not going to change the whole team, for sure, but there will definitely be changes from the weekend.”
For Lech Poznan, they are likely to welcome defender Dorde Crnomarkovic back into the squad after his European suspension.
Who needs what?
Rangers have already qualified for the last 32 but will win Group D if they match Benfica’s result against Standard Liege. Lech Poznan have already been eliminated.
How to follow
Follow Lech Poznan vs Rangers with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports’ digital platforms and live updates throughout the evening on Sky Sports News.
Opta stats
4:14
- Rangers’ 1-0 win over Lech Poznan on MD2 of this season’s UEFA Europa League was their only previous encounter in European competition.
- Lech Poznan have lost all three of their major UEFA European matches against Scottish teams, losing twice against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen team in 1982-83 (Cup Winners’ Cup) and Rangers this season.
- In all European competitions, Rangers are unbeaten in eight matches against Polish teams (W6 D2) since a 3-1 defeat to Górnik Zabrze in November 1969 in the Cup Winners’ Cup.
- Rangers have won two of their last 19 away games in major UEFA European competition (D11 L6), though both wins were in the Europa League in 2020 (vs Braga in February and Standard Liège in October).
- Since the start of the 2018-19 season, no player has more UEFA Europa League assists than Rangers defender Borna Barisic (8, level with Wenderson Galeno).
Pitch to Post Weekend Review podcast
Arsenal’s derby defeat means they sit 11 points behind Tottenham with just over a quarter of the season gone. Has the gulf in north London ever been this large?
Jasper Taylor is joined by Dharmesh Sheth and Gerard Brand to discuss Spurs’ continued fine form, as well as assessing Arsenal’s lack of creativity as we ask: was Mikel Arteta expecting the Gunners to sign Houssem Aouar in the summer? And did he oust Mesut Ozil too early?
Sky Sports’ digital journalist Oliver Yew also joins the show to give his first-hand experience of fans returning to stadiums, and Kaveh Solhekol is on the Regional Review to talk all things West Ham.
And in part four, we discuss Sheffield United’s woes as they prop up the table following the worst-ever start by any club to a Premier League campaign.
