Fenerbahce v Rangers preview: Team news, line-ups, where to watch
Barry Ferguson takes his Rangers side to Fenerbahce on Thursday as knockout football begins in the Europa League again.
Ferguson has been appointed as interim boss until the end of the season, but is already facing the same issues that saw Philippe Clement sacked.
With the Europa League the only thing left to play for at Rangers this term, the pressure remains very high to perform in Turkiye before the return leg at Ibrox.
Preview
The race for the Scottish Premiership title was done and dusted months ago with 16 points separating Celtic at the top of the table from Rangers, which highlights how far the fall has been.
With the League Cup final lost against Celtic and being knocked out of the Scottish Cup against Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park, European football is the only thing that could bring unlikely success to Ibrox.
However, with Clement let go from his job after a 2-0 league defeat against St Mirren, there are questions over whether Ferguson will be able to deliver the expected levels.
Fenerbahce sit second in their domestic league this season, although just four points separate them from Galatasaray at the top of the table.
Last time out in the Europa League, the Turkish side drew 2-2 with Anderlecht and are unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions.
Form guide (League)
Rangers: LWLWW
Fenerbahce: WDWWW
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for | Goals against | Goal difference | Points | |
| Rangers | 29 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 26 | 33 | 59 |
| Fenerbahce | 25 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 63 | 23 | 40 | 61 |
Team news
John Souttar is expected to be fit enough for selection on Thursday evening but whether Ferguson puts him straight into the line-up is yet to be seen.
Other than that, there are no unexpected player absences for the interim boss to have to contend with ahead of the game.
Fenerbahce remain without Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao who were both ruled out for the season through injury.
Ismail Yuksek is also unavailable due to an injury that is currently keeping him sidelined.
Predicted line-ups
Rangers: Kelly, Tavernier, Balogun, Propper, Yilmaz, Raskin, Diomande, Barron, Cerny, Dessers, Igamane.
Fenerbahce: Can Egribayet, Muldur, Skriniar, Soyuncu, Aydin, Fred, Szymanski, Kostic, Tadic, En-Nesyri, Dzeko.
Where to watch
The game will be available to watch live on TNT Sports 2 on Thursday at 17:45.
Prediction: Fenerbahce 2 – 1 Rangers
It’s going to be a tough game for Rangers, especially away from home and with Fenerbahce in such good form, they may not be able to come out on top.
However, a one-goal deficit going into a game at Ibrox is not the worst and the tie would not be over.