Rangers-OL, the lines: a big first for Boateng

OL have an appointment this Thursday evening in Glasgow to challenge the Rangers (9 p.m.) on the first day of the group stage of the Europa League.

OL’s adventure in the Europa League starts this Thursday. After a season without the European Cup, the Gones attack the Rangers of Steven Gerrard, in Glasgow (9 p.m.). Without Moussa Dembélé, Léo Dubois and Tino Kadewere, injured, but with Lucas Paqueta, Bruno Guimaraes and Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss international, whose vaccination course is not complete, was able to benefit from a dispensation to be part of the Lyon group. Paqueta and Guimaraes, for their part, feared they would not be able to travel to Glasgow because of their passage in a country classified « red Covid » (Brazil) by the British authorities. UEFA has finally given the green light for their presence in Scotland.

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Slimani holder in the absence of Dembélé

They will start at Ibrox Park, while Shaqiri will take his place on the bench initially. Another major presence on the ground, that of Jérôme Boateng, who will make his big debut with OL.

Malo Gusto and Emerson will occupy the defensive corridors. In the absence of Dembélé, Islam Slimani will have the opportunity to score points in attack. « Lyon have very good players, it’s a big club that should be in the Champions League. They also have a very experienced coach and we have no illusions about the difficulty of the match we have to play tomorrow, » said warned Gerrard at a press conference, while OL had a delicate start to the season before reassuring themselves against Nantes (1-0) and Strasbourg (3-1).

Opposite, the Rangers are leaders in their championship after five days. They will rely especially on their Colombian center forward Alfredo Morelos (17 goals in all competitions last season) to destabilize the Lyon defense.

The composition of the Glasgow Rangers: McGregor – Tavernier, Balogun, Goldson, Barisic – Lundstrom, Kamara, Davis, Aribo – Kent, Morelos

The composition of OL: Lopes – Gusto, Boateng, Denayer, Emerson – Caqueret, Guimaraes – Toko Ekambi, Aouar, Paqueta – Slimani

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