Rangers face Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with failure to win meaning the Light Blues cannot advance to the knockout stages.
Three losses from three leave Rangers rock bottom of Group A in the Champions League, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's side yet to score a goal in the competition. The last outing in the Champions League saw Rangers lose 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in an underwhelming performance.
And now, if the Light Blues fail to win at the Ibrox against Liverpool, their Champions League journey will come to an end after the group stages. Plenty of starters were rested in the 4-0 victory over St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership last weekend, meaning the squad should be feeling fresh for one of Rangers' biggest fixtures in their recent history.
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John Souttar, Filip Helander, Kemar Roofe, Ianis Hagi and Tom Lawrence are all guaranteed absentees for the Liverpool game. So, could Rangers pick up the first win of their Champions League campaign on Wednesday? We used FIFA 23 to try and predict the score.
Rangers vs Liverpool score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Rangers squad with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Rangers could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Lundstram, Davis; Sakala, Arfield, Kent; Colak.
We predict that the visitors could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Jota; Nunez.
With Rangers' Champions League hopes dependent on the result of this game, it was vital that the Light Blues could get off to an impressive start. Liverpool have had a habit of conceding first this season, and it happened in the simulation as Fashion Sakala fired Rangers ahead.
A poor pass from Joe Gomez into midfield was intercepted by John Lundstram, and with the Liverpool defender out of position, he was able to set Ryan Kent free down the left. As Kent broke into the box he cut inside and found Sakala unmarked at the back post.
Sakala was able to control Kent's drilled pass across the box and send a powerful effort across goal, fizzing past Alisson to send Rangers ahead. It was the ideal start after just three minutes, but a period of Liverpool pressure saw the visitors level the score.
After winning possession on the halfway line, the Reds had the chance to break forward as Darwin Nunez pushed towards goal. The striker spotted Roberto Firmino's bursting run forward, sending a pass forward for the Brazilian to chase.
Firmino beat Connor Goldson in a foot race before reaching the box, cutting in onto his right and curling his shot into the far corner of the net. Rangers entered the break level with Liverpool, but the visitors took the lead just 10 minutes after the restart through Firmino again.
As Diogo Jota sized up his marker on the edge of the box, the forward rolled a ball through to Kostas Tsimikas on the overlap, allowing the Greek defender to fire a cross into the box. Firmino was able to wriggle away from his marker and meet the cross, lifting the ball over the onrushing Allan McGregor and into the net.
Despite making all five changes and throwing everything at Liverpool, Rangers failed to create a clear-cut chance, ultimately falling to defeat at the Ibrox.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Rangers 1-2 Liverpool
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that despite taking the lead at the Ibrox, a Firmino brace could see Liverpool deny Rangers their first points in the Champions League. A loss would see Rangers unable to qualify for the Round of 16 - a situation that Van Bronckhorst will be desperate to avoid.
What do you think the score will be between Rangers and Liverpool on Wednesday? Let us know in the comments!
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