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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

5 key battles as Rangers lock horns with Eintracht Frankfurt in Europa League final

5 key battles as Rangers lock horns with Eintracht Frankfurt in Europa League final

Connor Goldson vs Rafael Santos Borré

This could well turn out to be one of Goldson's last games for the Ibrox club, with his contract set to expire within the next month. He's been a mainstay at the heart of the Rangers' defence for four years now, and he's progressively improved in each season. He's aggressive when going up against powerful strikers and he'll be on red alert once more when he comes up against Borré on Wednesday. The hitman has netted three times in the Europa League this season, including in the semi-final against West Ham.

Ryan Kent vs Ansgar Knauff

There's no doubt that Kent will be one of the key men for van Bronckhorst's side come Wednesday night at kick-off time. The English attacker has come to life in almost every knockout round of the competition to far this campaign, so everyone will be hoping he continues his form in the final. With more space to get in behind and isolate defenders one-on-one, Kent tends to excel on the big stage. Frankfurt tend to play wing-backs, so he looks set to come up against Knauff on the right. He scored at the London Stadium in the semis, so Kent will need to do his defensive duty well too.

John Lundstram vs Sebastian Rode

Rangers fans certainly think he's the best on earth. While that may not quite be the case, there's no denying that Lundstram is enjoying a superb run of form both in midfield and at the back. He bagged the winner against RB Leipzig to send Rangers to Seville. He has also put in a series of top performances against Celtic in recent weeks, so the Englishman thrives on the big occasions. He'll come up against the highly experienced Rode, who has played at the top level for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in recent years.

James Tavernier vs Filip Kostić

The fact that Tavernier is the competition's top goalscorer as a right-back shows just how good he is as an attacking threat. He's a sensational penalty taker, but as seen in the last two rounds at Ibrox, his ability to sneak in at the back-post, with clever timings of his runs, has proved vital in Rangers' success. He'll be tasked with bombing forward again, with his delivery from deep and of course at dead ball situations a huge attribute. Kostic won't like having to track him back. The Serb will equally look to pen Tav back as much as possible, to make him defend.

Joe Aribo vs Martin Hinteregger

With Roofe looking unlikely to start, van Bronckhorst will surely go for Aribo in the false nine position as he did in the last tie against Leipzig. The attacking midfielder is a strong presence, has excellent close control, possesses the ability to link the play and of course, has a good eye for goal. He should've scored in the semis, so the Nigeria international will be looking to be the hero this time, with Kent and Wright likely to be playing off him.

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