Rangers handed double boost ahead of Europa League clash v Real Betis, Philippe Clement can be confident
Rangers face an uphill battle when they travel to Spain to take on Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis in the Europa League.
Estadio Benito Villamarin plays host to the clash on Thursday (14 December), with the visitors needing to equal Sparta Prague’s result against Aris Limassol to reach the knockout stages.
If Philippe Clement’s side fail to do so, they will drop into the Europa Conference League, which is certainly not what fans of the Glasgow giants want.
The hosts currently occupy first place in Group C with nine points, one point and one place ahead of Rangers in second.
Clement knows it will be a hugely difficult task from the very first whistle, but giving the hosts an extra boost is the fact they are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season.
But the travelling side have also been given a boost ahead of the huge clash under the lights, beginning with the fact that they are unbeaten in their past three Europa League matches, which is their best run in major European competition since a run of seven between October 2021 and March 2022 [BBC Sport, 13 December].
And another boost is that Real Betis have lost their last two Europa League matches against Scottish opponents, having lost 3-2 to Celtic in 2021 and 1-0 to Rangers at Ibrox earlier this season [BBC Sport, 13 December].
Clement has had plenty of challenges in his brief time in the Ibrox dugout, but this may just be the biggest yet, with so much riding on the upcoming clash in Spain.
The manager will have all of his focus on this European test, but he must also be preparing his players for another massive clash on Sunday (17 December) when they take on Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final.
In other Rangers news, Scott Brown has shared a Celtic admission ahead of the Viaplay Cup final clash between the Gers and Aberdeen.