Rangers early team news v Tottenham: Clement confirms three stars ruled out

Philippe Clement has confirmed that Rangers will be without three players for the Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.

The Gers face former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou's Spurs team in a crucial match in their European campaign (12 December).

The Light Blues sit in eighth place in the competition's league phase above Thursday's opponents by virtue of goal difference in the final automatic qualification spot for the round of 16.

Clement gave an injury update ahead of the contest in his pre-match press conference [11 December], saying: "Tom Lawrence will be out, Matondo is training but not fit enough to be in the squad. Cortes is getting closer to playing some minutes."

Huge game for Clement and Rangers

The Europa League clash is a huge contest for Clement as he seeks to avoid losing his job at Ibrox.

The Belgian has endured a dire start to the season with the club sitting third in the Scottish Premiership behind Celtic and Aberdeen.

In Europe, however, the Gers have been better and currently sit in the final automatic qualification place for the knockout stages with three matches left to play.

The match on Thursday is crucial as the visitors sit just one place behind the Light Blues due to goal difference and would overhaul them with a win.

The Gers face Manchester United and Union Saint-Gilloise in January as the league phase concludes and they will hope to go through to the round of 16 automatically.

That would likely ease some of the pressure on Clement, although he may be gone by then if results this week do not go his way.

In other Rangers news, Richard Keys believes that the Gers could get former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou sacked on Thursday.

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