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The last 16 of the Europa League kicks off this week and will see Rangers host Red Star Belgrade at the Ibrox on Thursday night.
After going through the group stages rather shakily, Rangers comfortably knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the playoff round. They beat the German outfit 4-2 in the first leg before playing out a 2-2 draw in the return leg on home turf.
Rangers have been knocked out at this stage of the continental showpiece in the last two seasons, losing 4-1 to Bayer Leverkusen in the 2019-20 season and 3-1 to Slavia Praha last season.
The Scottish powerhouse will now be hoping for better luck this time around.
Red Star Belgrade begin their knockout round this week as they secured automatic qualification to the last 16 due to a first-place finish in their group. They suffered just one defeat in the group stages, losing 1-0 to Midtjylland in the fourth round.
The visitors have come further in the Europa League than they have in over two decades and will be looking to extend their run in the competition on Thursday.
Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade Head-to-Head
Rangers and Red Star Belgrade have been paired three times in European competitions. The hosts have won two of those ties while the visitors have won the other.
Their most recent meeting came back in the 2007-08 Champions League campaign which saw the Scottish giants win the tie 1-0 on aggregate before eventually ending the tournament as runners-up.
Rangers Form Guide (All Competitions): W-W-D-D-D
Red Star Belgrade Form Guide (All Competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade Team News
Rangers
The hosts will be without Ianis Hagi, Amad Diallo and Steven Davis on Thursday as the trio are all injured. Nnamdi Ofoborh is out with a heart condition while Filip Helander is unregistered for the competition.
Injured: Ianis Hagi, Amad Diallo, Steven Davis
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: Nnamdi Ofoborh, Filip Helander
Suspended: None
Red Star Belgrade
Angers loanee Lois Diony is out with an injury and has been excluded from his side's Europa League squad as a result.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: Lois Diony
Suspended: None
Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade Predicted XI
Rangers Predicted XI (4-3-3): Allan McGregor; Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey, James Tavernier; Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara, Ryan Jack; Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Fashion Sakala
Red Star Belgrade Predicted XI (4-3-3): Milan Borjan; Milan Rodic, Strahinja Erakovic, Aleksandar Dragovic, Milan Gajic; Guelor Kanga, Mirko Ivanic, Nenad Krsticic; El Fardou Ben, Ohi Omoijuanfo, Aleksandar Katai
Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade Prediction
Both teams are in top form at the moment, with Rangers being unbeaten in their last nine games across all competitions, while their visitors have not lost a competitive game of football since November last year.
The two teams are in the thick of a title race in their respective leagues and should play out a draw on Thursday.
Prediction: Rangers 2-2 Red Star Belgrade
