By Betsefy
Another mammoth European encounter takes place under the bright lights of Ibrox on Tuesday night, as Rangers face off against PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying playoff round tie.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst‘s side battled past Royale Union Saint Gilloise of Belgium to keep their continental dreams alive, while the Dutch giants sent Monaco packing in the previous round.
Match preview
Key attacker Ryan Kent was a notable absentee from the squad to face St Johnstone at the weekend, as was defender James Sands, who started in the second-leg success over Union SG.
Sands is expected to recover from illness in time for Tuesday’s game, and Van Bronckhorst has also played down fears of a fresh concern for Kent, who should be fine to take over from Rabbi Matondo on the left-hand side.
Kemar Roofe, Filip Helander and Ianis Hagi make up a trio of absentees for the hosts, who could elect to bring Tom Lawrence and Scott Arfield back into the starting lineup following their goals at the weekend.
Alfredo Morelos is still losing his battle to regain his spot in the attack over Colak, and Van Bronckhorst has hinted that the Colombian is still not quite ready for a full 90 minutes.
As far as PSV are concerned, Van Nistelrooy’s attack remains depleted as Noni Madueke, Carlos Vinicius and Yorbe Vertessen continue their recoveries, while defenders Mauro Junior and Olivier Boscagli are also set to miss out.
Twenty-one-year old Richard Ledezma – who recently recovered from an ACL injury – was the victim of Mats Deijl‘s red-card worthy challenge at the weekend and should cede his place in the middle to Joey Veerman as the club wait to learn the extent of the damage to his ankle.
Xavi Simons has made a very strong case for himself to start the first leg over Guus Til, while Philipp Max ought to return at left-back in place of Fredrik Oppegard.
Our Prediction
Over 2 Goals
