Former Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough has warned Rangers about the ability of Russian sides in European competitions ahead of their clash against Spartak Moscow tonight.
Rangers are at the top of Group G of the Europa League following an away draw at Villarreal and a win over Rapid Vienna at Ibrox in the first two games of the competition.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 14th |
| 2023–24 | 9th |
| 2022–23 | 14th |
| 2021–22 | 7th |
| 2020–21 | 6th |
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 16th |
| 2023–24 | 14th |
| 2022–23 | 13th |
| 2021–22 | 10th |
| 2020–21 | 13th |
Steven Gerrard’s side are being considered favourites to beat the group’s bottom-placed team Spartak Moscow when the two sides meet at Ibrox tonight.
However, Rough has warned Rangers about the kind of ability some of the Russian sides possess and admits in the past Celtic have found it hard to deal with some of the teams from eastern Europe.
He feels Spartak Moscow’s performance tonight will largely depend on how they manage to adapt to the intimidating atmosphere of a packed Ibrox backing the home side in Rangers.
Rough said on PLZ Soccer: “There are a few of the Russian sides in the European competition and they all seem to do particularly well.
“I remember a few coming over to play Celtic and they found it difficult to deal with the ability they had.
“They have a lot of players from a lot of different countries – Brazilians, Argentinians – so they will be very gifted.
“It depends whether they handle the travelling and obviously the atmosphere at Ibrox.”
Spartak Moscow have just earned a point from their opening two group games and are desperate need of a result tonight.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2023–24 | 5th (Championship — lost in play‑off semi‑finals) |
| 2022–23 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2021–22 | 10th (Championship) |
| 2020–21 | 19th (Premier League) |
