Glasgow Rangers take to the Champions League stage this evening for the first time in almost 12 years.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Light Blues are in Amsterdam to take on four-time European champions Ajax.
The Ibrox club’s preparations for the match took a hit in confidence at the weekend as their Glasgow arch-rivals thrashed them at Parkhead to take advantage in the race for the Premiership crown.
However, Wednesday night’s clash represents an opportunity to return to form, and what better way to do it than by winning their first group stage match in Europe’s premier club competition since a 1-0 win against Bursaspor in December 2010.
Ahead of the game against Ajax, Ben Davies was spotted at Glasgow Airport boarding the flight to Amsterdam and it looks like he could be in the running for a spot in the team.
Van Bronckhorst should be buzzing
The English defender was then pictured in training before the match, and it looks like he could be in contention for some game-time in Amsterdam.
Davies arrived at Ibrox in the summer from Liverpool for a fee of £4m, but he hasn’t had the impact that some supporters might have expected. In his first start for the club, he came off with a knock and has missed the subsequent Champions League qualifiers and the Old Firm clash.
Connor Goldson and James Sands have been the centre-back pairing ever since, but the Gers have conceded nine goals in the last six matches and it may be time for Van Bronckhorst to make a change at the heart of the defence.
Goldson and Sands received SofaScore ratings of 6.7 and 6.8 respectively on Saturday, but the pair were torn to shreds by Celtic’s relentless nature and quickfire attacking play. The duo lost possession 23 times combined, and with an Ajax front three likely consisting of Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey and Dusan Tadic, Van Bronckhorst won’t want his defenders caught napping again.
If the 47-year-old does wish to change up his backline this evening, then he will be buzzing to have Davies available.
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