Glasgow Rangers will be aiming for their first ever victory in Seville as they need to defeat Real Betis in order to reach the Europa League knockout stages.
Philippe Clement will be buoyed following three victories in the Scottish Premiership over the previous ten days and this should give the Gers plenty of confidence heading into the crunch clash in Spain.
Rangers team news
The 3-1 win over Dundee followed by Celtic’s shock defeat to Kilmarnock on the weekend narrowed the gap at the top of the table to just five points and the Light Blues are certainly in contention for the title.
The only downside was Jose Cifuentes being sent off on the stroke of half-time and despite appealing this red card, it was rejected, and he will miss the League Cup final and the Premiership tie against St Johnstone.
He will be available for the clash against Betis, however, but Leon Balogun and Ridvan Yilmaz will not be, as Michael Beale didn’t register them for the squad back in September.
Clement rested Connor Goldson for the visit of the Dens Park outfit on the weekend, but he must be thrust back into the starting XI against the Andalusian side this evening to replace the unavailable Nigeria international.
Connor Goldson’s season in numbers
Balogun has started seven domestic matches since the Belgian arrived at Ibrox and his experience along with his pace have been valuable assets for the 49-year-old.
His exclusion means he will be fresh for the final against Aberdeen and Goldson will make his return to the squad and this will give Clement a boost.
The Englishman has been a colossus at the back for the Gers this term, winning a staggering 69% of his total duels – 5.7 per game – in the Premiership, while being dribbled past only 0.3 times per match, demonstrating his impressive physical attributes and having him at full fitness is imperative to their ambitions this season.
Goldson also ranks second among the squad for accurate passes per game (67.2) along with ranking first for accurate long balls per game (6.4) and fourth for clearances (2.5) domestically.
In the three matches that the centre-back has missed this season, Rangers have conceded a goal in two of them, and it showcases just how much they rely on him.
The £37k-per-week titan has made nearly 300 appearances for the Glasgow side since joining in the summer of 2018 under Steven Gerrard, and he soon emerged as a mainstay at the heart of their defence.
Remarkably, across his five full seasons in Scotland, Goldson has missed just 17 matches through injury and this reliability has made him a firm favourite among a succession of managers.
The Gers know they will play European football of some sort after Christmas, yet it remains to be seen whether this will be in the Europa League or the Conference League.
Clement could repeat Rangers' Davies howler in move for £70k-p/w gem
Rangers are interested in signing another centre-back in the January window.
ByRoss Kilvington
Many supporters may argue that they would rather the club win the League Cup on Sunday as opposed to securing victory tonight.
The truth is, Rangers should be doing everything they can to win both games, laying down a marker to Celtic in the process.
