Rangers and PSV once again faceoff in the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League. In the fall, Michael Beale’s team eliminated Servette to take a step toward playing on a continental level, but Sturm Graz fell short against their Dutch opponents.
Preview (Rangers vs PSV)
Rangers eliminated PSV’s chances of reaching the Champions League group stage at this stage. Gers supporters will undoubtedly be hoping that lightning can strike twice in Europe. The manner of their two-legged victory against Servette in round three was hardly convincing. Servette was on track to extend the tie thanks to Dereck Kutesa’s opening goal in the 22nd minute. Beale’s team arrived in Geneva with a slim 2-1 advantage from their first match. Rangers, though, looked to their captain for inspiration in the second half.
Five minutes into the second half, James Tavernier scored the equalizing goal to guarantee Rangers’ progression with a 3-2 aggregate score before Greenock Morton awaited them in the Scottish League Cup. In the first leg, Tavernier had previously caused the net to tremble from the penalty spot. Once more, a significantly altered Rangers team overcame a one-goal deficit to triumph. After a frantic 15-minute stretch in the second half, Grant Gillespie opened the score from 12 yards. Cyriel Dessers’ own penalty kick and a goal from Danilo turned the game around.
The Glasgow giants are about to make back-to-back appearances in the Champions League group stage. The club has only previously experienced one qualification elimination at the last hurdle. Beale’s team will be wary of a furious PSV. PSV has since risen to the top of their domestic table at the time of writing. PSV, who are not missing Ruud van Nistelrooy too much, also destroyed Feyenoord in the Dutch Super Cup. They head to Ibrox with a perfect record of five wins from five games in 2023–24. It has been 22 games since Bosz’s team’s humiliating Europa League loss to Sevilla in February.
Team News
After the second leg against Servette, Rangers’ Jose Cifuentes was a little worse for wear, but the 24-year-old was healthy enough to play the entire 90 minutes at the weekend, when Beale, as expected, gave starts to a number of periphery players. The full-back duo, along with Todd Cantwell, Ryan Jack, and John Souttar, were among the key players who missed the match against Greenock Morton. However, Tavernier and Borna Barisic are ready to make a comeback this weekend. The hosts are still making do without Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies for the time being due to illnesses, and Steve Davis is still recovering from a torn cruciate ligament.
Additionally absent are fellow defenders Armando Obispo and Fredrik Oppegard, while PSV is concerned about Noa Lang’s health after the attacker missed the weekend victory with an unidentified complaint. Even if Rangers manage to score in front of a boisterous Glasgow crowd, PSV is skilled at recovering from deficits and has a strong psychological motivation to make up for last season’s mistakes. We would expect a completely healthy and goal-happy PSV team to narrowly win this match, but new fitness issues could force Bosz’s team to settle for a draw against Rangers’ rested heavyweights. In any case, the Dutch powerhouses would still be in a great position for their rematch on August 30 in Eindhoven.
Rangers 1 – 1 PSV Eindhoven
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