With a healthy first-leg advantage, Steven Gerrard’s side host their visitors from Gibraltar looking to secure passage to the next Europa League round
With one foot effectively in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, Rangers will look to keep their clean competitive record for 2019-20 intact when they host St Joseph’s at Ibrox this week.
Steven Gerrard’s side impressed to brush aside their hosts in Gibraltar last weekend and are widely tipped to have no trouble this week once again, though their manager is likely to be wary of any prospective shocks.
Raul Procopio Baizan will be hoping to inspire his side to earn a modicum of revenge in their trip to Glasgow in only their eighth European encounter, with the Saints perhaps dreaming of delivering a shock in Scotland.
| Game | Rangers vs St Joseph’s |
| Date | Thursday, July 18 |
| Time | 7:45pm BST / 2:45pm ET |
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed via Rangers TV.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| n/a | Rangers TV |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast on television or streamed.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
Steven Gerrard left a number of names out of his European squad, including Daniel Candeias, Graham Dorrans, Jason Holt and Kyle Lafferty, meaning he cannot call upon them.
Jamie Murphy and Jon Flanagan remain sidelined for the hosts but Scott Arfield is now back in contention.
Possible Rangers XI: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Barisic; Davis, Jack, Kamara; Ojo, Morelos, Jones
| Position | St Joseph’s squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Robba, Mateo, Warwick |
| Defenders | Casciaro, Guerrero, Lobato, Serra, Villar, Torres, Cano, Rojas |
| Midfielders | Rojas, Cornejo, Pedrito, Hernandez, Green, Pecci, Garro, Juanma |
| Forwards | Reyes, Duarte, Boro, Juanfri, Clinton, Ferrer |
Centre-back Ezequiel Rojas should be back in contention after he was banned for the first leg following a red card.
Possible St Joseph’s XI : Mateo; Lobato, Villar, Casciaro, Torres; Ferrer, Pecci, Juanma; Juanfi, Boro, Pedrito.
Rangers are overwhelming favourites at 1/33 to take the match with bet365. St Joseph’s meanwhile can be backed at 25/1 while a draw is priced at 16/1.
Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
With one foot into the second qualifying round and a tie with either Luxembourg’s Progres Niederkorn or Ireland’s Cork City in the pipeline, Steven Gerrard will be determined to ensure that Rangers do not find themselves on the end of a shock reverse against Gibraltar’s St Joseph’s.
With a hefty four-goal advantage secured from the first-leg tie at Victoria Stadium, the Scottish Premier League outfit could be forgiven for considering their progression a foregone conclusion.
However, their manager will likely take no chances despite their substansial lead as he looks to build upon last season’s group stage elimination when a late Dejan Ljubicic goal for Rapid Wien ended their hopes of reaching the knockout bracket.
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Speaking on the difference between the club’s other pre-domestic season fixtures, with several friendlies on the horizon, the former Liverpool favourite stressed that these fixtures stand out from the crowd.
“It just feels different,” he told Rangers’ website. “Friendlies are friendlies and we always try and approach them the best way we can, to prepare and they are like rehersals for the important games.
“But when you see the Europa League sign on the arm of your shirt and the setup is for real you see in the players’ eyes it is a different feeling.
“It is a real game and you are playing for something, in a friendly, with all due respect you don’t really get anything out of it in terms of points and prizes.
“I think the players are chomping at the bit to get in front of the crowd tomorrow.”
Their visitors, who came through a preliminary round tie against Prishtina in Kosovo to reach this stage, have only been at this level once before, two years ago when they fell to AEL Limassol.
They’ll take solace from the achievements of their rivals Lincoln Red Imps however, who in 2016, toppled Rangers’ Old Firm enemies Celtic.