Rangers travel to Polish side Lech Poznan in the Europa League on Thursday night with the hope of winning the game and finishing top of Group D.

Poznan, meanwhile, who host the Scottish side for the first time in their history, have already been eliminated from the competition.

Match preview

Rangers celebrate Scott Arfield's goal against Standard Liege in the Europa League on December 3, 2020 © Reuters

Rangers cruised to a 4-0 victory away at Ross County in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, which keeps up their magnificent run of form.

The Gers are unbeaten in their 25 matches played in all competitions this season with Steven Gerrard's side winning 21 of those games.

Rangers still have a task to complete on Thursday night as they aim to win their group ahead of Benfica, who have the same number of points.

Gerrard's men will finish top if they match or better Benfica's result against Standard Liege as they have a better head-to-head record over the Portuguese outfit.

Rangers' 1-0 win over Lech Poznan in October was their only previous encounter with the Polish side in a European competition.

The Gers travel to Poland having only won two of their last 19 away games in major European competitions – drawing 11 and losing the remaining six – although both wins were in the Europa League in 2020 against Braga in February and Standard Liege in October.

Lech Poznan players celebrate scoring against Standard Liege on November 5, 2020 © Reuters

Lech Poznan's slim chances of progression from Group D were ended last week as they lost 4-0 away at Benfica, which confirmed their elimination from this season's Europa League.

The Polish side have struggled in the group stages this campaign as they have in their domestic league, where they currently sit eighth in the Ekstraklasa, 10 points behind Legia Warsaw, who lead the way.

Dariusz Zuraw's side did however bounce back from their loss to Benfica with a 4-0 win of their own against Podbeskidzie on Sunday.

Poznan head into their fixture with the Gers having lost all three of their major European matches against Scottish teams, losing twice against Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen side in the 1982-83 season and against Rangers this campaign.

Poznan have nothing to play for on Thursday night but Zuraw will use the game as an opportunity to build form to carry into the rest of their domestic season.

Lech Poznan Europa League form: LLWLL
Lech Poznan form (all competitions): LDLWLW

Rangers Europa League form: WWDDW
Rangers form (all competitions): WWDWWW

Team News

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos celebrates scoring against Lech Poznan in the Europa League on October 29, 2020 © Reuters

Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack, who has missed the last four matches, remains doubtful after suffering a knock, while Filip Helander remains out as he has tested positive for coronavirus.

Left-back Borna Barisic – who along with Braga's Wenderson Galeno has the most Europa League assists since the start of the 2018-19 season, with eight – was an unused substitute against Ross County and is likely to return to the starting lineup to replace Calvin Bassey.

Scott Arfield could also come into the midfield at the expense of Joe Aribo.

Lech Poznan defender Dorde Crnomarkovic is back from suspension and could feature on Thursday night.

Striker Mikael Ishak, who has scored four goals in his last five matches, is set to start up front once again.

Lech Poznan possible starting lineup:
Bednarek; Czerwinski, Satka, Rogne, Puchacz; Skoras, Tiba, Moder, Sykora; Ramirez; Ishak

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barasic; Arfield, Davies, Kamara; Roofe, Morelos, Kent

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We say: Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers

Rangers will be keen to top Group D in the hope of securing a supposedly easier draw in the last 32. Poznan were difficult to break down at Ibrox in October, but Gerrard's side should have enough quality and motivation to get the job done in Poland.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 51.21%. A win for Lech Poznan had a probability of 26.4% and a draw had a probability of 22.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.7%) and 0-2 (7.3%). The likeliest Lech Poznan win was 2-1 (6.58%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.06%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rangers would win this match.