Rangers vs Genk

And so on Thursday, another Europa League campaign begins for Rangers. It’s not what anyone associated with the club wants. This makes it seven of the last eight seasons that Rangers have played in UEFA’s second fiddle tournament, missing out on the riches that come with playing on the cash-kissed shores of the Champions League. After the humiliation and chagrin of Club Brugge however, perhaps it is best to save face in the Europa League. There is no better love story than Rangers and Thursday nights after all. So much so in fact, that even in the new format where Europa League games are to be played Tuesday – Thursday, the Light Blues have been assigned the Thursday slot for all their matches. You just can’t keep Rangers and Thursday nights apart.

The Gers start off with a home tie versus Genk. Ordinarily, this would be a game you would expect to win. However, the start to the season has been anything but ordinary. Nevertheless, it is a favourable opening match against a side with little European pedigree. The Belgian side’s journey to the Europa League was achieved thanks to a 6-3 victory over Lech Poznań in the play-off. It is their first outing in the competition proper since the 2021/22 season which saw them finish bottom of a group that featured Dinamo Zagreb, West Ham and Rapid Wien. Like Rangers, they have had a poor, listless start to the season domestically and sit third from bottom. Unlike Rangers, they can at least boast a league win. As I say, the start to the season has been anything but ordinary for Rangers.

Genk’s star man, or star boy rather, is 17-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas. The Greek wonderkid will be familiar to anyone who watched Greece’s 3-0 dismantling of Scotland in March where the winger scored his first goal for his country. Unfortunately for Genk, but fortunately for Rangers, he will likely miss the game through injury. But Genk still have talent elsewhere. The Belgian side have their own goalscoring right back in Zakaria El Ouahdi who has netted four times in nine games this season. He is yet to reach the consistent goalscoring heights of Tavernier, but he is a man in form and one Rangers must watch out for. Additionally, stifling the threat of Jarne Steuckers in midfield will be salient in order to secure a win. The attacking midfielder/winger is the creative hub of the team having recorded six assists in ten games this season to continue on from a solid debut last season where he finished with nine goals and twelve assists.

The Rangers side, on the other hand, has undeniable talent all over the park but the weakness lies in the dissonance and frailties in defence that have become synonymous with Martin’s spell at Ibrox (and every other club he has been at for that matter). The beacon of hope for the fanbase will be Raskin’s apparent return to the team. His performance against Hibs on Saturday provided a tenacity, drive, and spark to a side that had sorely missed it. He has so often been the light during dark times and will surely be instrumental if Rangers are to win on Thursday. The other shining light in the otherwise dull team has been Gassama. A Vaclav Cerny shaped hole was left over the summer and Gassama may be the one to fill it. He is of course still bedding in, but he has shown a determined directness and dogged dynamism on the wing that has provided equal measures of excitement and unpredictability into a team that can so often be indirect and lethargic in attack.

The atmosphere in the stadium is likely to be a tense one. The vociferous fanbase have been transparent in their feelings towards Martin with Ibrox becoming a bubbling cauldron of anger and frustration, seemingly just one more bad result away from boiling over. A win against Genk may cool the crowds but it is unlikely to cool attitudes towards Martin. The fanbase are unified in their opposition towards him.

But they are also, and always will be, unified in their support for the team. And so come Thursday, expect no less. So often the Europa League has been the antidote to poisonous seasons. A remedy for the pain. The start to this season has been one of the most painful in memory but a win on Thursday can ease some of that pain. God knows we need it.