Rangers begin their Europa League campaign against Malmo in Sweden.
The Glasgow side reached the Europa League final in 2022 but dropped into the competition this season having crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers. Philippe Clement’s side drew fixtures against both Manchester United and Tottenham, but start off with a tricky test at the home of the Swedish champions, who they lost to in Champions League qualifiers in 2012 and 2021.
Malmo are well into their domestic season, sitting 11 points clear at the top of the Allsvenskan, which stands in contrast to Rangers. The Light Blues already trail Celtic by five points in the Premiership, having lost the Old Firm 3-0 at the start of the month, and sit third behind their Glasgow rivals and Aberdeen. Rangers also lost 3-1 on aggregate to Dynamo Kviv in a disappointing Champions League exit.
Follow live updates from Malmo vs Rangers in our live blog below
Meet Henrik Rydstrom, the Malmo manager playing Brazilian football: ‘We try to create chaos’
Malmo manager Henrik Rydstrom has been turning heads in Europe through his “relationism” style of play – the 48-year-old, who worked his way up through the coaching ranks before joining Malmo in 2023, where he won the league in his first season – describes his football as “a philosophy of attacking movement without fixed positions”.
“It’s really strict in some other parts,” Rydstrom said. “But not from a positional point of view. And I think that also makes it a little bit unpredictable for the opponent.”
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:38
Rangers Europa League fixtures
There are eight fixtures for Rangers to play in the new league phase rather than the previous six, including a couple of crackers against Tottenham and Manchester United.
Jan 23: vs Manchester United (A)
Jan 30: vs Union Saint-Gilloise (H)
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:19
Rangers return to Europa League after Champions League exit
It’s a disappointing return to the Europa League for Rangers, who would have wanted to join Celtic in the new-look Champions League. A 2-0 defeat at home to Dynamo Kyiv capped off a 3-1 aggregate loss to the Ukrainian side, and meant Rangers miss out on the Champions League for a second season in a row.
But they can be inspired by their run to the Europa League final in 2022, where the Glasgow side defeated, Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig on their way to reaching the Sevilla final, where they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:06
What is the Rangers team news?
Philippe Clement does not have a natural left back available – with Ridvan Yilmaz still out injured and Jefte suspended. Oscar Cortes is out for “several weeks” with a knock picked up in training, having only just returned following an injury against Hearts on the opening day of the season.
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:02
When is Malmo vs Rangers?
The game kicks off at 17:45pm BST in Malmo. It will be shown live on TNT Sports 1.
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:01
Good afternoon
Rangers begin their Europa League campaign against Malmo in Sweden.
The Glasgow side reached the Europa League final in 2022 but dropped into the competition this season having crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers. Philippe Clement’s side drew fixtures against both Manchester United and Tottenham, but start off with a tricky test at the home of the Swedish champions.
You can follow all the build up in our live blog.
Jamie Braidwood26 September 2024 16:00
