Seeking to maintain or increase a narrow one-goal lead from their opening affair, Rangers travel to Geneva to meet Swiss giants Servette in the second leg of their Champions League third-round qualifier on Tuesday night.

Michael Beale's side edged a close encounter 2-1 at Ibrox last week, and the victor of this tie will square off with PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz for a place in the group phase.

Match preview

The obligatory James Tavernier penalty propelled Rangers into the lead after just six minutes during last week's first leg against Servette, whose supporters must have feared the worst when Cyriel Dessers doubled the hosts' lead on the 15-minute mark.

However, Tavernier went from the hero in one penalty area to the villain in his own, as his handball allowed Chris Bedia to reduce the arrears from 12 yards just before the break, and a one-goal deficit is hardly unassailable for Servette to make up at the Stade de Geneve.

As Young Boys rode off into the sunset during the 2022-23 Swiss Super League campaign - taking the title and a place in the Champions League playoff round - Servette entered Europe's premier tournament at the second hurdle, edging out Europa League-bound Lugano by just one point.

Les Grenats are still awaiting their first Champions League group-stage appearance since the tournament's rebranding - having also endured failed qualifying periods in 1994 and 1999 - and their domestic streak does not offer much hope of history being made this time around.

Indeed, Rene Weiler's side have won just one of their opening four Swiss Super League contests - drawing each of their last three versus FC Zurich, Stade Lausanne Ouchy and St Gallen - meaning that their only win from their last six games was their penalty-shootout success over Genk in the second qualifying stage.

Rangers' first-leg triumph over Servette was just what the doctor ordered for Michael Beale's side in the wake of their shock Scottish Premiership loss to Kilmarnock, but those errors were rectified when Livingston came to town on Saturday.

Kicking off their quest to end Celtic's reign of supremacy at the second attempt, Rangers put four past David Martindale's team without reply, as Sam Lammers broke the deadlock inside 10 minutes before Abdallah Sima, Danilo and Kieran Dowell contributed to a second-half onslaught.

Despite a couple of untimely fitness issues arising before the visit of Livingston, Rangers still marched to a comprehensive success in front of the Ibrox faithful, and an impending League Cup showdown with Greenock Morton next weekend will certainly come second on the priority list to Tuesday's second leg.

The Gers did suffer a third-round qualifying exit as recently as the 2021-22 season - being dumped out by Malmo, who also sent them packing at this stage in 2011 - although they did lose the first leg to the Swedish giants on both occasions.

Barring a stellar Servette comeback in Geneva, Rangers can potentially look forward to a repeat of last year's playoff round fixture against PSV, who fell to the Gers' superiority before the Scottish side failed to carry that momentum forward into the group stage.

Team News

Servette managed to keep the scoreline respectable at Ibrox despite losing midfielder David Douline to a 59th-minute red card, as the Frenchman was made to take the walk of shame for two bookable offences.

Samba Diba should be given the nod in the middle as Douline serves his suspension on Tuesday, while first-leg skipper Steve Rouiller was taken off just before the end, having suffered a nasty head injury which required stitches.

However, the bullish 33-year-old has affirmed that he will be fine to take part this week, which is more than can be said for the stricken Jeremy Frick, Keigo Tsunemoto, Theo Magnin, Alexis Antunes, Alexander Lyng and Miroslav Stevanovic.

As mentioned, Rangers put Livingston to the sword even without the services of a couple more first-team regulars, as Ryan Jack, John Lundstram and Connor Goldson all sat out the game for a variety of reasons.

Jack and Goldson were only left out for precautionary reasons and are expected to be fine for Tuesday, although Lundstram is still not back from a personal issue, and the visitors must still manage a few defensive concerns ahead of the trip to Geneva.

All of Ridvan Yilmaz, Ben Davies (knock) and Leon King (ankle) are taking up beds in the treatment room, while Leon Balogun's place in the first XI should come under threat from the returning Goldson.

Servette possible starting lineup:
Mall; Vouilloz, Rouiller, Severin, Mazikou; Kutesa, Diba, Cognat, Guillemenot; Fofana, Bedia

Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Barisic; Raskin, Jack, Cantwell; Lammers, Dessers, Danilo

We say: Servette 1-2 Rangers (Rangers win 4-2 on aggregate)

Servette are quickly establishing a reputation as Switzerland's draw specialists, but a stalemate will not suffice for the hosts if they are to prolong their continental adventure, and Beale's depleted backline should prepare for a wave of Grenats attacks.

Injuries on Servette's end will not help their cause either, though, and with Rangers reigniting their golden touch against Livingston, we can envisage an identical scoreline to the first leg as the Scottish giants book a playoff date with PSV or Sturm Graz.


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