Glasgow Rangers return to Europa League action this Thursday, and they will be hoping to gain revenge on Aris Limassol after they defeated the Gers last month in what was a rather surprising result, to say the least.

The Ibrox side were in a crisis then. Michael Beale had been sacked just days before and interim manager Steven Davis was thrown into the deep end and this culminated in a 2-1 defeat against the Cypriot side.

The Gers have gotten their act together since then, however, appointing Philippe Clement as their new manager and going unbeaten across his first eight matches.

The 1-1 draw with Aberdeen in the Premiership at the weekend was the first time the club have dropped points domestically since the Belgian arrived, and he will be looking for an immediate response.

With the fixtures coming thick and fast and several players unavailable due to suspension and not being included in the squad, the 49-year-old will need to make some changes to his starting XI.

With this in mind, we predict that the manager will make four changes from the stalemate against the Dons on the weekend…

1 GK – Jack Butland

The former Crystal Palace ‘keeper has been a revelation between the posts for the club this season, especially with recent goalkeeping troubles plaguing the side.

Butland has featured in every single match this term, conceding 21 goals across 24 matches, along with keeping 11 clean sheets.

A third group stage clean sheet would go a long way to seeing the Gers achieve knockout football.

2 RB – James Tavernier

The 32-year-old is currently the top scorer for the Light Blues this season as the festive season approaches, finding the back of the net on 12 occasions so far.

The defender loves Europe’s second-tier competition and was even the top scorer during the 2021/22 edition, finishing with seven goals and remarkably, they all came during the knockout stages.

3 CB – Ben Davies

The first change to the side will see Davies come in and replace Connor Goldson, who is suspended for the tie.

The centre-back picked up his third yellow card of the group stage against Sparta Prague in the previous tie and this means he won’t be available for selection against Aris.

Clement will replace him with Davies, who has started every match of the group stage so far, yet has made the starting XI just four times in the league.

4 CB – John Souttar

The second change Clement will make is bringing in Souttar for Leon Balogun, as the 35-year-old wasn’t included in the Europa League squad by Beale.

It was a poor decision, especially with Balogun’s experience, yet the Scot will be able to step up and form a solid partnership with Davies.

5 LB – Borna Barisic

The Croatian started against Aberdeen, yet due to yet another error by Beale, who failed to include Ridvan Yilmaz in his Europa League squad, he will be forced to start against Aris.

Barisic only has a few months left of his current contract, and it remains to be seen whether this will be his final season in Glasgow.

6 CM – John Lundstram

The Englishman has been solid in recent weeks and, under Clement, he has started all eight games and returned to the sort of form which saw him propel the Gers into the Europa League final in 2022.

During that semi-final tie against RB Leipzig, the former Premier League midfielder popped up with the winner with just minutes to go, thus earning cult hero status in the process.

Expect him to retain his place against the Cypriot side.

7 CM – Ryan Jack

The third change by the Belgian will see Jack return to the starting XI in place of Jose Cifuentes.

The Ecuadorian is finding his feet at the Ibrox side following a slow start and against the Dons, the 24-year-old looked comfortable at the heart of the midfield, taking 81 touches, and succeeded with 88% of his attempted passes.

Jack has started just once in the competition, yet he has won 88% of his ground duels and Clement may just prefer his experience alongside Lundstram.

8 RW – Ross McCausland

The man of the moment. McCausland will be Clement’s fourth and final change as he will come into the side.

Clement could repeat McCausland masterclass at Rangers with exciting teen

Clement has a host of youth talents in the Gers academy ready to break into the first team

ByRoss Kilvington

The youngster has recently signed a new contract which will keep him at the club for the next three and half years, and it is a wise investment by Clement.

He has broken into the first team over the previous few weeks and secured his first start for the Light Blues against Livingston before the international break.

He could add something extra to the attack and don’t be surprised to see him shining yet again.

9 AM – Todd Cantwell

The Englishman started on the right against Aberdeen and while he made five key passes and succeeded with 100% of his dribbles, there was something missing in his performance.

His best position is clearly just behind the striker and he registered eight goal contributions from that role during the second half of last season after joining from Norwich City.

This means Tom Lawrence will drop to the bench to accompany the attacking midfielder. The 29-year-old – who was dubbed as “wonderful” by journalist Josh Bunting – could be an important player for the club this term, and his impact will be useful from the bench tomorrow.

10 LW – Abdallah Sima

The on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion starlet has really made the left wing role his own recently. Sima has managed to find the back of the net on nine occasions and he scored during the first two matches of the group stage, including the winner against Real Betis.

He will make yet another appearance in the starting XI against Aris.