Here is a reminder of the 22-man Rangers squad submitted at the beginning of February for the Europa League knockout phase.
And it all starts against Benfica on Thursday evening at the Estadio da Luz as Rangers seek passage to the quarter-final stage for the second time in two years and continue their stunning record in the Europa League.
UEFA rules allowed Philippe Clement to make three changes to the original squad picked by Michael Beale at the start of the season who went on to qualify out of Group C.
Two January signings were added to the knockout phase squad. The likes of Oscar Cortes, Danilo and Kieran Dowell miss out altogether.
Rangers Europa League knockout phase squad
Goalkeepers
- Jack Butland
- Robby McCrorie
- Kieran Wright
No changes to the goalkeeping department for Rangers. Butland has faced 26 shots in the Europa League, saving 20 of them [FotMob].
Defenders
- James Tavernier
- Ridvan Yilmaz
- John Souttar
- Connor Goldson
- Dujon Sterling
- Ben Davies
- Borna Barisic
Just one alteration to the defensive line-up as Philippe Clement opted to include the rapidly improving Ridvan Yilmaz.
The Belgian had to decide between Yilmaz and central defender Leon Balogun who was already left out of Michael Beale’s initial pool of players for the group stage.
It means Rangers have just three first-team centre-backs going into the knockout rounds but do have the luxury of calling upon Leon King, who has been named on the B list.
Midfielders
- John Lundstram
- Ryan Jack
- Mohamed Diomande
- Nicolas Raskin
- Tom Lawrence
- Todd Cantwell
Jose Cifuentes was loaned out to Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro in January so it left a space in the European squad for new Ibrox addition Mohamed Diomande.
The Ivorian has never played at Europa League level before having made four appearances for FC Nordsjælland in the Europa Conference League last season.
Forwards
- Scott Wright
- Rabbi Matondo
- Abdallah Sima
- Fabio Silva
- Kemar Roofe
- Cyriel Dessers
Brazilian striker Danilo’s serious knee injury means his natural replacement is January loan signing Fabio Silva. Kemar Roofe and Abdallah Sima are also in the squad despite their own frustrating injury issues.
Rangers injury list ahead of Benfica
It’s all well and good naming a 22-man squad for the Europa League knockout rounds but Philippe Clement has a number of injury issues to contend with.
Across the goalkeeping and defensive departments, there is a clean bill of health but further up the park, attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell will be absent due to a muscle problem.
Ryan Jack and Tom Lawrence suffer from intermittent injury issues but the pair, at the moment, are fit to play a part in the first leg at the Estadio da Luz.
Rangers are light in the forward areas too with Abdallah Sima and Rabbi Matondo currently sidelined. However, the Welshman may be close to a return having missed the last few games.