Tottenham Hotspur travel up north to Glasgow where they take on Rangers in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League league stage. Here is a preview.
Scottish giants Rangers are at home to Tottenham in a rare European fixture, with only two points separating them at the time of writing.
This is the first time that both clubs are meeting in a competitive game, so this is uncharted territory but they will each be desperate to come away with maximum points.
Rangers finished runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish League and Cup during Philippe Clement's first season in charge, but they have since regressed. The under-fire manager now attempts to salvage his job as the Ibrox side finds themselves off the pace so far in this campaign.
Rangers lost only two of their first nine league games and secured two wins, a draw and loss in their first four European matches. However, dwindling results domestically have made them lose ground in the league standings.
The Gers drew 1-1 with Dundee United in their most recent game to leave them a staggering 11 points behind Celtic. Rangers are now third on the table and they desperately need a turnaround to avoid a full-blown crisis.
The Rangers fans have had enough of the poor performances, and the pressure is mounting on Clement as a new chief executive has been appointed.
With the club currently tenth in the Europa League after four games, they will look to enter the top eight spots that guarantee automatic knockout qualification and this game against Spurs is a chance to secure a fantastic result in front of their famous home crowd.
Pertinently, this match comes three days before the Scottish League Cup final against Old Firm rivals Celtic and they will be focused on seeing out a crucial week with two good results.
On the other hand, the Lilywhites finished fifth in Ange Postecoglou's maiden season at the club, and are now angling for a push into the UEFA Champions League places this term.
It has been an up-and-down campaign for Tottenham who began with two wins, two defeats, and a draw from their first five games. The measure of their inconsistency is shown in a run that saw them thump Manchester United and West Ham but lose to Brighton and Crystal Palace.
Results have been mixed on a game-by-game basis and they will be hoping to improve their current league position. However, Tottenham returned from the November international break with a bang as they thrashed Manchester City 4-0 to significantly boost their hopes for the rest of the season.
The Lilywhites looked like an entirely different side to the one that lost to Galatasaray and Ipswich Town before the break, as they inflicted a third straight Premier League defeat on City for the very first time under Guardiola.
However, there is still a lot of work to do as the defeat to Galatasaray left Spurs down in seventh place in the Europa League table. They are just three points ahead of 18th position but three behind the top spot and must keep the maximum points coming in to build some momentum in this competition.
The challenge will now be to establish some consistency as their ability to beat any team on their day is undoubted but they must cut out the dramatic swings in form. Hence, a visit to Rangers is a daunting challenge but one they will be looking forward to in order to get a run of form going.
Match tickets
This UEFA Europa League matchday 6 fixture takes place on Thursday, 12 December 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 8 PM UK time. It promises to be a spectacular occasion and match tickets are now available for sale on the website of each individual club, with priority access given to club members and season ticket holders.
The Ibrox Stadium is the venue for this unprecedented European matchup and up to 51,000 seats are expected to be sold out. Rangers fans are known for generating a wonderful atmosphere on their home ground so this should be a noisy affair.
In order to not be left out of the fun, away supporters who want to make the journey can purchase their Rangers vs Tottenham tickets on a resale site. While more interested match-goers can also find other Tottenham tickets for this season.
Team news
Neraysho Kasanwirjo will be out for the long term due to a knee injury, while Rangers wingers Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes have been out but their issues aren’t thought to be serious.
Cristian Romero and fellow centre-back Micky van de Ven are currently sidelined while Richarlison and Wilson Odobert are longer-term casualties for Tottenham.
Line-ups
Clement favours a 4-2-3-1 system at Rangers, with Dujon Sterling or captain James Tavernier slotting in at right-back and John Souttar, Robin Propper, and Jefte forming the rest of the defence.
Up front, top scorer Cyriel Dessers will be expected to provide the clinical edge for his side in the hope of upsetting Spurs.
Atalanta: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte; Raskin, Barron; Cerny, Diomande, Bajrami; Dessers
Postecoglou has implemented a dynamic brand of football at Tottenham and although the personnel should change slightly for this game, the style will remain the same.
The likes of Fraser Forster, Lucas Bergvall, and Archie Gray will be eyeing a start as well as Will Lankshear who will be returning for this fixture after getting sent off against Galatasaray.
Tottenham: Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Prediction
Tottenham are the clear favourites and Rangers’ underwhelming form in recent European campaigns will support the belief that they should beat the Scots. Spurs must then put together a strong enough team and avoid complacency that can deter their hopes of reaching the Last 16 directly.
On the other hand, the Light Blues will be fired up against their Premier League counterparts and they will be desperate to secure a result that aids their cause. Tottenham’s quality may just be too much for the Gers’ best efforts, however.
Rangers 1-3 Tottenham
