A dismal first-leg display has left Rangers with an uphill task to keep their hopes of reaching the Champions League group stage alive, as they trail Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 ahead of the second stanza at Ibrox on Tuesday evening (7.45pm KO).
A week ago, the Belgian side triumphed 2-0 in Brussels, as captain Teddy Teuma netted in the first half and Dante Vanzeir’s second-half penalty after VAR determined that Connor Goldson’s handball off a deflection deserved punishing gave the Gers a mountain to climb in Glasgow.
Blues boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst was scathing of his side’s performance and acknowledged that a big improvement will be needed to overturn the deficit, saying after the first leg: “The most important thing now is to reflect on our own game because we need to change it around big-time and the performance needs to be a lot better than we showed. We are capable of making that up at Ibrox but first of all, we need to concentrate on our performance and if we have the same performance then we have no chance.”
The winners of the tie will face a play-off round clash with either PSV Eindhoven or Monaco - that contest locked at 1-1 following the first leg - with the losers gaining direct entry into the Europa League group stage.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game.
When is Rangers vs Union Saint-Gilloise?
The match kicks off at 7:45pm BST at Ibrox, Glasgow on Tuesday 9 August.
Where can I watch it?
The game will not be shown on TV in the UK but you can buy a stream of the game on Rangers’ own club channel. It will be available to stream for a one-off PPV cost of £9.99. You can access Rangers TV HERE.
What is the team news?
Alfredo Morelos returned from injury and scored just 24 minutes after emerging from the bench against Kilmarnock at the weekend and the mercurial Colombian is likely to be parachuted straight into the starting line-up for this game, with goals a necessity. Ianis Hagi and Filip Helander’s serious injuries will keep them sidelined, Kemar Roofe is also out and Ryan Kent faces a late fitness test.
Dennis Eckert Ayensa, Koki Machida and Ismaël Kandouss were out injured for the league game against Mechelen and are unlikely to feature here in an XI that should look pretty similar to the starting line-up from the first leg.
Predicted line-ups
Rangers XI: Jon McLaughlin; Ben Davies, Connor Goldson, Borna Barišić, James Tavernier; James Sands, Glen Kamara, John Lundstram; Thomas Lawrence, Antonio Čolak, Alfredo Morelos
Union SG XI: Anthony Moris; Sieve Van Der Heyden, Christian Burgess, Ross Sykes; Bart Nieuwkoop, Jean Thierry Lazare, Senne Lynen, Teddy Teuma, Simon Adingra; Loïc Lapoussin, Dante Vanzeir
Odds
Rangers 4/6
Draw 5/2
Union SG 15/4
Prediction
It’s an uphill task for Rangers and although they may win on the night at Ibrox, overturning a two-goal deficit may prove a little too much for them. Rangers 2-1 Union SG (2-3 on agg)
