Steven Davis axed, Scott Wright starts – Confirmed Rangers XI vs Ajax in UEFA Champions League showdown
Rangers have made one change to their starting lineup to face Ajax in the Champions League after the 4-0 thrashing against Celtic at the weekend.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has picked his team and kept faith in goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin in goal and the rest of the defence with James Sands starting alongside Connor Goldson, James Tavernier and Borna Barisic. Ben Davies is named on the bench.
John Lundstram starts in midfield alongside Glen Kamara again, while Steven Davis drops out of the side with the manager going for a more attacking side..
Malik Tillman and Ryan Kent start in attack with Antonio Colak, who keeps his place in attack ahead of Alfredo Morelos who takes his place as a substitute once again. Scott Wright starts on the right wing as the only change.
Confirmed Rangers XI: McLaughlin; Tavernier, Goldson, Sands, Barisic; Lundstram, Kamara; Wright, Tillman, Kent; Colak.
Strong
Van Bronckhorst needed to make changes from the weekend, but his comments in his press conference suggested he wouldn’t be pushing any panic buttons.
Making just one change is a risk though with a team that is likely to be seen as struggling for confidence and fragile, heading into a hostile atmosphere in one of Europe’s best grounds.
They will need to be able to cope with that pressure and play their own game, with Van Bronckhorst keen to keep possession and use the pace and skill of his attackers to hurt the opposition.
But with such a strong group he’s competing against, a draw in this game could potentially be seen as a good result if the team can maintain their excellent Ibrox form with huge performances at home.
For now they must avoid another big defeat at best, with any points seen as a positive in this game. This attacking team suggests the boss feels it’s possible to get something from it.
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