Rangers vs Young Boys preview
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Wednesday 11 December 2019 15:33, UK
Team news, stats and prediction as Rangers host Young Boys in the Europa League.
Team news
Filip Helander and Steven Davis will both miss Thursday's crunch Europa League clash with Young Boys. The Rangers duo are confirmed casualties from Sunday's Betfred Cup final defeat to Celtic.
George Edmundson was absent from training on Wednesday but is expected to be available while Niko Katic should partner Connor Goldson in defence.
Steven Gerrard revealed a foot injury will sideline Helander while Davis sustained a knock, although it is not believed to be too serious.
The Ibrox boss also confirmed that Jordan Jones is not available yet, despite playing an hour behind closed doors in a game for Rangers' academy team.
State of play
Rangers need just a draw to go through to the last 32 and Young Boys will qualify with a win or draw if Porto lose. They would finish level on eight points with Feyenoord but have a superior head-to-head record.
Opta stats
- Should they beat Young Boys, Rangers will be guaranteed winners of Group G; Rangers have not finished top during the group stages of a European tournament since 2006-07 in the UEFA Cup under Paul Le Guen.
- This is the first time Rangers have hosted BSC Young Boys since a 1-0 win in August 1977 (Cup Winners Cup qualifying) and the first time they've hosted Swiss opposition since beating Grasshoppers 2-1 in the 1996-97 Champions League group stage.
- Young Boys have never won away against British sides in six attempts (D1 L5), with the Swiss side failing to score in four of those games.
- Nine of Young Boys' last 10 wins in all European competitions have been on home soil - their last away win in Europe was against Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League qualifying in August 2018.
- Three of Alfedo Morelos' five goals in the UEFA Europa League this season for Rangers have been assisted by Borna Barisic - it is the most one player has assisted another in the competition in 2019-20.
Charlie Nicholas' prediction
This group is wide open, Rangers just need to win - anything can happen here. It was another defeat against Celtic in the League Cup final, when they dominated and controlled the game, but just couldn't put the ball in the net.
Ibrox will be alight with energy, it will not be hard to pick them up. When you get an opportunity like this, you must not pass it up, and Rangers will not. They will be well pushed with desire and Steven Gerrard will get the final out of their system in this one.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 3-1 (12/1 with Sky Bet)
