Gio van Bronckhorst's Rangers return to Ibrox action tonight in Glasgow as they turn their attention away from the league for now.

The Gers are back in European action this evening in the first leg of their next knockout tie, having won their last two domestic games on the bounce.

The Gers beat Aberdeen 1-0 last weekend as Kemar Roofe came off the bench to score the winning goal, keeping the club alive and kicking in the title race.

Unleash him

One change the Dutchman must make to the team from that game is the introduction of John Lundstram in the middle of the park tonight.

The former Sheffield United man has enjoyed playing in the Europa League this season and played a major role in the sensational two-legged victory over Borussia Dortmund in the last round of the competition.

He was exceptional against the German giants and van Bronckhorst should bring him back into the XI after he was named on the bench against the Dons.

Across the two matches in the last round, he made four clearances, four interceptions, two tackles and only lost possession six times - as per SofaScore. This shows that he was defensively solid for Rangers whilst he was also reliable on the ball and rarely gifted it back to the Bundesliga outfit.

He also scored a phenomenal goal in the first leg. The ball fell to him on the edge of the Dortmund box and he swept the ball into the far corner with ferocious pace, on his weak foot, to extend the club's advantage at that time.

His former manager, Chris Wilder, recently lavished the Englishman with praise as he compared him to Bryan Robson, saying:

“He can play in a two or a three in midfield and he’s old-school. He’s like a throwback to Robson. He can pass it, he can head it, he can tackle and he can get in the box to score. He can do everything.

“But we seem to have got away from this notion of just being a good, proper midfield player. That’s what John is."

These qualities have been on show in the Europa League throughout the campaign as he has put in complete performances.

Lundstram has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.92 in the competition across seven appearances. This shows that he is a top performer at this level and that is why van Bronckhorst must unleash him from the start against Red Star Belgrade.

AND in other news, Big boost: Rangers handed pre-UEL injury lift that'll leave Ibrox supporters buzzing...