When Glasgow Rangers plays Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday night, they will be looking to build on their recent winning streak of three Scottish Premiership games.
The Gers have guaranteed themselves a spot in Europe after Christmas, however it is unclear which competition they will play in.
If they defeat Betis, they will guarantee their spot in the Europa League; if they lose, they will fall into the Europa Conference League together with Sparta Prague.
Although Philippe Clement has some choices to make, particularly with a vital League Cup final against Aberdeen on Sunday, he will undoubtedly want to win every game he manages.
In light of this, he might alter his starting lineup from the 3-1 victory against Dundee for the trip to Seville.
With two potential changes from the weekend, we at Football FanCast have projected the starting lineup that Belgian may select for the final group stage match of the season on Thursday night.
GK – Jack Butland
This season, the dependable Englishman has not missed a game, and it doesn’t appear like this will change very soon.
This season, Butland has made several huge saves in European matches against PSV Eindhoven and Sparta Prague. His domestic play has also likely maintained the Gers just a point ahead of Celtic in the race for the championship.
The former Crystal Palace goalkeeper will be going for his 14th clean sheet against the La Liga team, having kept 13 in 28 games.
RB – James Tavernier
The skipper will be looking to snap his goalless streak in the Europa League on Thursday. He scored and picked up an assist in the team’s previous league game against Dundee over the weekend.
Although the 32-year-old hasn’t contributed a goal during the group stage of the season yet, this may be encouraging. Tavernier did not score in the group stage but ended up leading the competition in goals, just like on his way to the 2022 Europa League final.
CB – Connor Goldson
In order to prepare for the two next games, Clement rested the Englishman during Saturday’s play against the Dens Park team.
Goldson has only missed three games this season, but he might have benefited much from the break.
Over the next four days, the six-foot-three titan might be let loose against Betis and Aberdeen, and his commanding presence at the back could be crucial to Clement’s success.
CB – John Souttar
Michael Beale did not put Leon Balogun on the Europa League roster, therefore Souttar might be used right away on Thursday.
The Scottish player participated in the entire match against Dundee, and despite missing a few matches this season because of a bothersome injury, it seems he is fully recovered just in time for the intensely competitive schedule to begin.
LB – Borna Barisic
Similar to Balogun, Ridvan Yilmaz was left out of the previously mentioned squad for the group stages, and with each game that goes by, it appears like this was a larger error.
Barisic will now start his fifth group stage encounter of the year, despite the fact that he hasn’t yet contributed an assist in any of those games.
The Croatian defender needs to make an impression on Clement because his current contract is about to expire if he is to secure a longer one.
CM – John Lundstram
Since the Belgian tactician took over, the 29-year-old ace has found his form again and is quickly emerging as one of the few players Clement can rely on. He has started every game this season.
In order to offer the Light Blues the best opportunity of winning and reliving their exploits from 2022, he will be aiming for another dominant performance in the middle of the pitch.
CM – Jose Cifuentes
The midfielder still has time to establish himself in the middle of the pitch, even though he hasn’t exactly taken off during his time in Scotland.
The Ecuadorian was sent off against Dundee, and even though the team is appealing the ruling, Cifuentes will now miss the Premiership match against St Johnstone as well as the League Cup final.
This implies that Clement will use him in conjunction with Lundstram, but he will have a difficult time making selections for the next two games.
RW – Ross McCausland
In the 3-1 victory over Dundee, the young player was benched, but he entered the game in the second half.
He was replaced in the starting lineup by Rabbi Matondo, although the Welsh winger will sit out the European match as Clement might want to save him for the Sunday championship game.
McCausland scored the first goal for the team in the match against Aris on this very pitch, so this is his chance to shine in Europe once more.
AM – Todd Cantwell
Cantwell has buckled down and demonstrated his abilities by being used in his preferred number ten position since being substituted out after just 36 minutes of play during the previous continental match.
There isn’t a better week than this one for the Englishman to add a few more goals to his tally of just one during the current campaign.
LW – Abdallah Sima
Since the 22-year-old has started every game under the 49-year-old so far, Clement can also rely on him to be healthy for every game.
In addition, the winger’s total for the season now stands at 13 goals after scoring four goals in that period.
The Gers will have a good chance of winning both games if he can increase this total over the course of the next several games.
ST – Cyriel Dessers
Dessers must now make the most of the news that Danilo will miss the next few months because of a knee injury sustained against Hearts.
The summer signing has scored just seven goals in 24 matches since his move from Serie A Cremonese during the summer transfer window.
Clement will need him more than ever with the news Danilo is out with a knee injury, and he could cement his spot in the starting XI with a goal or two against Betis tomorrow.
Predicted Rangers starting XI vs Real Betis – GK – Jack Butland; RB – James Tavernier, CB – Connor Goldson, CB – John Souttar, LB – Borna Barisic; CM -John Lundstram, CM – Jose Cifuentes; RW – Ross McCausland, AM – Todd Cantwell, LW – Abdallah Sima; ST – Cyriel Dessers
