Can Rangers start their Europa League campaign with a victory at Ibrox?
For those who don’t believe the Europa League to be the highest-quality competition around, well, on this occasion, they’d be right, given that Rangers sit second bottom of the Scottish Premiership, while visitors Genk are third bottom of the Jupiler Pro League.
Russell Martin is yet to oversee a league victory in five attempts, but did at least lead his side through to the League Cup semi-finals at the weekend, as the Gers defeated Hibernian 2-0 at home.
Key to that success was Nicolas Raskin, heading home the opening goal, back in the team following a two-match exile, which was both baffling and mystifying, considering he was, by some distance, the club’s best player last season.
If the Light Blues are going to make a winning start in the Europa League, Raskin will be a central figure once again, but Martin must also start his “creative” summer signing in attack.
Djeidi Gassama's start to life at Rangers
The unquestionable star of Rangers’ Champions League qualifying campaign during the summer was Djeidi Gassama.
After arriving from Sheffield Wednesday for £2.2m, the Frenchman announced himself by scoring home and away against Panathinaikos, doubling their advantage at Ibrox, before lashing home the clincher in Athens eight nights later.
In the following round, Gassama scored twice during a 3-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzeň in Glasgow which remains, by a landslide, the club’s best performance of the season.
Manager Martin said that the winger “really excites us”, labelling him a difference maker, while Nick McPheat of BBC Sport highlighted his excellent dribbling and goal-scoring statistics, concluding that he adds an extra dimension to Rangers’ attack.
So, while Gassama is yet to get off the mark in a domestic setting, a return to European competition could help to bring the best out of him, but who should start alongside him across the forward line against Genk?
Rangers' creative attacking star
Rangers signed a total of 13 new players during the summer, but the £3m paid to secure the signature of Oliver Antman could prove to be the best business of the lot.
The 25-year-old was outstanding at Go Ahead Eagles last season, scoring six goals and registering 16 assists across all competitions, helping them win the KNVB Beker, defeating AZ Alkmaar in the final on penalties at De Kuip, securing the club’s first major silverware since 1933.
The table below documents Antman’s impressive output in the Eredivisie.
Goals
6
38th
Assists
15
1st
Expected assists
9.1
1st
Big chances created
16
1st
Key passes
50
10th
Shot-creating actions
96
13th
Goal-creating actions
19
4th
Progressive carries
96
10th
Touches in the box
125
11th
As the table notes, Antman ranked first for assists, expected assists and big chances created in the Eredivisie last season, impressively doing so for the team that finished seventh in one of the most unbalanced leagues in Europe.
Well, just 24 hours after he arrived, Rangers supporters got a taste of what was to come, with Antman providing this assist, part of a free-flowing team goal, for Gassama during the aforementioned 3-0 annihilation of Viktoria Plzeň.
The Finnish international actually registered two assists on debut in that game, but is yet to notch either a goal nor an assist subsequently, left on the bench for all three matches in September so far, with Martin favouring Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore.
Nevertheless, his quality is unquestionable, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelling Antman a “creative winger”, while his numbers at Go Ahead Eagles, as well as at international level, scoring seven goals for Finland to date, speak for themselves.
Thus, we have already seen Gassama and Antman link up well on the European stage this season so, alongside new striker Bojan Miovski, that is surely Rangers’ best front three, one that is capable of defeating a struggling Genk on Thursday.