Rangers will be looking to claim their first Champions League win of the season when they face an out-of-form Liverpool on Tuesday night.
After a difficult start to the month that saw Rangers lose 4-0 to Celtic and both their opening Champions League games, two wins on the bounce, including a 4-0 win over Hearts, will send Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side into the Liverpool game full of confidence. The Reds have won just three games so far this season and currently sit ninth in the Premier League table.
Tuesday night's clash will be the first time these two sides have played each other competitively, with the only previous meeting being a friendly in 2011. But, ahead of the trip to Anfield, the Gers have a handful of injury issues to worry about.
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James Sands is unavailable after his red card against Napoli, whilst Tom Lawrence could be out until after the World Cup after a fresh injury setback. John Souttar, Filip Helander and Ianis Hagi all remain absent.
So, could Rangers pick up a win against Liverpool on Tuesday? We used FIFA 23 to try and predict the score.
Liverpool vs Rangers score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Liverpool squad with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Gers could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Lundstram, Jack; Tillman, Davis, Kent; Morelos.
We predict that Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Fabinho, Milner; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.
The game started with Liverpool having all the possession, with the Gers sitting deep in their own half. But, after just 12 minutes, a stunning counter-attack saw Rangers take the lead.
John Lundstram won back possession with a strong challenge on Harvey Elliott in midfield, and the midfielder threaded a long ball forward for Alfredo Morelos who beat the Liverpool high line. The Colombian striker sped away from the home side's defences and fired a powerful strike into the top corner to put his side ahead.
It was the perfect start for Rangers, and Van Bronckhorst's side defended well to maintain that lead as Liverpool looked for an equaliser. But, against the run of play, Rangers found themselves 2-0 up heading into the break after Steven Davis scored on the stroke of half-time.
Another counter-attack saw Rangers push forward in numbers, with Ryan Kent leading the charge. The winger played a quick one-two with Lundstram as he beat Joe Gomez down the left, and his driven cross into the box was prodded home by Davis who managed to nip in ahead of Joel Matip.
Rangers had more shots than Liverpool in the first half, with the Gers deservedly in the lead. Liverpool started the second half the stronger side after making three changes at the break, and they pulled a goal back on the 60-minute mark.
Kostas Tsimikas managed to fire a cross into the box after being allowed to charge down the left by Rangers' back line, and Darwin Nunez slid in to tap the ball past Allan McGregor and into the net. The Reds continued to push for another, and they found it with just over 10 minutes remaining to make it 2-2.
Luis Diaz pulled three Rangers defenders out of the box following a corner as he looked to shoot from distance, but the Colombian played a reverse pass back towards Nunez who was left unmarked in the area. The striker's shot was wild and looked set to go well wide, but an unfortunate deflection off a Rangers player saw the ball change direction and end up in the back of the net.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Liverpool 2-2 Rangers
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Rangers are more than capable of grabbing a positive result against a Liverpool side low on confidence this midweek, with the simulation predicting that Van Bronckhorst's side could go a couple of goals up in the first-half if they start well. But, this simulation also predicts that Liverpool have the firepower to find their way back into the game, so Rangers will have to defend well if they are to come away with a strong result.
What do you think the score will be between Liverpool and Rangers on Tuesday? Let us know in the comments!
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