Rangers will hope to make home advantage count when they take on Ufa at Ibrox Stadium in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie on Thursday.
Steven Gerrard's side can book their place in the group stage of the competition by overcoming the Russian outfit, but they must be decisive over two legs in order to do so.
The Scottish Premiership team have already progressed through three rounds, beating Shkupi, Osijek and Maribor, so they will be eager to clear the final hurdle to ensure another six continental games at least.
Ufa, meanwhile, are competing in Europe for the first time in the club's history and will be aiming to extend their maiden campaign, after already beating Domzale and Progres Niederkorn.
| Game | Rangers vs Ufa |
| Date | Thursday, August 23 |
| Time | 7:45pm BST / 2:45pm ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US) the game will be not be shown live on television, but it is available to stream live online via Rangers TV.
Next Match
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | Rangers TV |
In the UK the game will be not be shown live on television, but it is available to stream live online via Rangers TV.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | Rangers TV |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Rangers squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | McGregor, Foderingham, Alnwick |
| Defenders | Tavernier, Goldson, Hodson, Flanagan, Ross McCrorie, Katic, Bradley, Wallace |
| Midfielders | Dorrans, Jack, Ejaria, Halliday, Coulibaly, Kent, Arfield, Kelly, Rossiter |
| Forwards | Murphy, Sadiq, Morelos, Candeias, Rudden, Middleton, Lafferty |
Rangers will be without Jamie Murphy, who has been ruled out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Lassana Coulibaly is still sidelined with an issue he sustained against St Mirren earlier in August.
Defender Borna Barisic is cup-tied having already played in the tournament this season for his previous club Osijek. Jordan Rossiter and Graham Dorrans are also unavailable, but Lee Wallace is pushing for a return.
However, the return of Kyle Lafferty to the club boosts the striker options available and the Northern Ireland international could well start the game.
Potential Rangers XI: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Flanagan; Arfield, Jack, Ejaria; Kent, Candeias, Morelos.
| Position | Ufa squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Chernov, Belenov, Sheliya |
| Defenders | Alikin, Nikitin, Jokic, Carp, Putsko, Tumasyan, Nedelcearu, Sukhov, Tabidze, Krugovoi, Diveev |
| Midfielders | Salatic, Sysuev, Vanek, Bizjak, Zazeev, Zivoglyadov, Paurevic, Bezdenezhnykh, Oblyakov |
| Forwards | Seidakhmet, Igboun, Krotov, Zhuraviev |
Ufa will be relying on the talents of Nigeria international Sylvester Igboun as they search for an away goal, while Croatian midfielder Ivan Paurevic - who came through the ranks at Borussia Dortmund - is another player the Gers will have to pay close attention to.
Manager Sergei Tomarov has plenty of experienced options available to him and he is likely to encourage his team to work on the counter attack.
Potential Ufa XI: Belenov; Jokic, Alikin, Carp, Nedelcearu, Tabidze; Salatic, Paurevic, Zivoglyadov, Oblyakov; Igboun.
Betting & Match Odds
Rangers are strong favourites to win in the first leg at Ibrox, with bet365 offering odds of 11/20 on a victory for Gerrard's team. Ufa are priced at 11/2 to win and a draw is a 11/4 bet.
Match Preview
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The early days of the Steven Gerrard era at Ibrox have been highly positive and Rangers are now just one step away from taking their place in group stage of UEFA's second-tier club competition.
They come into the game against Ufa on a nine-game unbeaten run and the former Liverpool captain is expecting his players to feed off the energy of the home support as they attempt to establish a lead in the tie.
"I think at Ibrox with the crowd, it is another full house and we know the crowd are excited and are going to take the roof off," Gerrard said at the pre-game press conference. "I think we have to go with that, be positive and be on the front foot. I am looking for a top-class performance from my team so we will be looking for a performance full of aggression and intensity, and I think that is when we are at our best. "
A number of key players may be unavailable due to injury, but the form of Alfredo Morelos has been a particular highlight of the new era. The Colombian forward has scored five goals in nine appearances in all competitions this season, including a hat-trick in his last outing against Kilmarnock in the League Cup and the opener in the first leg against Maribor.
With the addition of Lafferty, Gerrard now has more support for the 22-year-old and he will be hopeful that the added experience can help the team take the final leap into the group stage.
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