pete

Coulibaly was nearly back to the form he had at the beginning of the season so Ejaria may struggle for Sunday as well.

Morelos worked his socks off and got absolutely no protection from the referee from that big clogger that was marking him.

The supporters were absolutely fantastic last night. A real 12th man!

And three wise men.

Agreed

Not if Spartak beat Villareal as they beat us on the two games we played them.

Rapid win 2-1. keeps it in our hands for now.

2-1 for Rapid in extra time.

1-1 header from a corner.

Still 1-0 Spartak. Rapid have had 1 shot on goal. Spartak now shutting up shop.

Spartak 1 Wien 0 HT One shot on goal in 45 minutes and 1 goal.

Do I need to start this thread with "Forgive me father for I have sinned"

Ahhh I hope not. I have read that about 10 times as well.?

On Thursday we welcome Villareal to our rebuilt fortress Ibrox for the next game in the oh so exciting, or is it stressful, Europa league game. These are the games we have been looking forward to since 2012. And what a group this has turned into. Only two points split all four teams so every team can still survive after the winter stop. There is no point in crying over spilt milk but we really should be sitting on easy street after the two games against Spartak Moscow. Although I never saw the game in Moscow I can pull my hair out to think we scored three goals away from home and still came away with "Nul Points". That was even magnified if you see the, perfectly good, chalked off goal from Alfredo Morelos. That goal would have put us 4-2 up and changed the whole complexion of the game. That said the defending on that evening left a lot to be desired. Due to the resulting 4-3 defeat that result means if we want to keep qualifying for the next round in our own hands then a win is a must against Villareal. If we don't win then it means we are depending on some favourable results from the other matches. A win for Rapid Vienna over Spartak would keep it mathematically possible to qualify even if we lose, but it would playing Russian Roulette in the last set of games. Villareal would also not need to play their first team against Spartak as they would be group winners already. If we lose and Spartak beat Rapid then the game's a bogey. Villareal have been having a pretty torrid time this season and are currently lying in sixteenth position in the Primera División. Before last Sunday's win against Real Betis they were actually lying seventeenth, just one place above the relegation zone. After that win they will have picked up a bit of confidence and their European form has not been too bad as they are currently unbeaten in the last ten away Europa league group stage matches. They have won three and drawn seven. I always say though runs and records are there to be broken. I actually watched the first-half of their game on Sunday against Real Betis and I can say that they do look dangerous when they are attacking, but they really look very shaky when defending. Although Betis didn't capitalise on it they got in behind the full-backs on a number of occasions. Looking back on our match in Spain, that is also where our two goals came from. Getting in behind the full-backs is a particular strong point of ours with Tavernier and Candeias linking on the right and hopefully Baricic and Middleton linking on the left. Grezda may also be called to take that left wing position but Middleton has been hitting some fantastic free-kicks and corners and that will probably just give him the nod. So what will Gerrards tactics be. I certainly don't think we will go Gung ho right from the start and I also think it will be wishful thinking to think we will be able to dominate for the greater part of the game, so I think we will set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. We definitely need the defence to be far better than they were in Moscow. Alan McGregor will also probably have to play an important role in that as the Villareal strikers love to shoot on sight as we learned in Spain. I have heard a lot of people say that they would bring back Joe Worall for the game but I have no idea why we would drop Gareth McAuley after his performances of late. Yes, he may be thirty-nine years old but his positional sense and strength in the tackle make up for any loss of speed he may have. Don't forget Davie Weir took us to the UEFA final in 2008. I don't see the defence having the same difficulty with dead ball situations or having to make many headers in this game as the villareal game is mainly on the deck. McAuley made Conner Goldson also look like a far more confident player with his constant instructions. Big Conner was also breaking into the midfield far more on Saturday probably because he trusted MçAuley to mop up at the back. Villareal are a completely different class to Livingston of course. As I said earlier think the team will be set up in a 4-2-3-1 and I am going for the fact that Borna Barisic is fit and will be making his re-entry. If Ejaria does get the nod over Coulibaly then he will need to play a lot better than he did on Saturday. What a shame it would be to throw away that excellent start to the play-offs and go out like a damp squib. I really do think we can get in behind the Villareal defence though and come away with a 2-1 win. C'MON the Gers!

To sell Morelos in January for under 20 million would be stupid. Even then it would need to be the beginning of January so as we can bring in a replacement before the season restarts.

I agree that Haliday was the biggest wrongdoer but 4 players standing in the same position ball watching worries me. They watched the ball go out and then watched it coming back in again. That is a fair amount of time. It seems I am the only one that it worries though so everything must be rosy in the garden. If it was one incident I could get that but it happens as a regular occurrence that opposing players are totally unmarked in our box after set pieces.

So you win a header and stand still. That is a new one on me. I was always told to move up and close down as quick as possible. We are not talking milliseconds here looking where the Livingston players are standing and the time for the ball to be headed away and come back. The fact that you seem to think that is normal defending is also worrying. It is also not the first time we have given away chances like that.

The Livingston players didn't seem to be standing around ball watching. Shocking defending although I will say Halliday is the main culprit for not getting out.

The best for Wes is for Wes and not for Rangers. If a player does not get near the same money then they will gladly sit on their bum even if Rangers wanted rid of them.

No it wouldn't as long as it was well intimated. It is easier to clear 800 as 50.000.

This is scary. Offside you may think but Andy Halliday is in the 6 yard box. What was Halliday thinking about and why have we 4 players grouped together on the right side of the box.

Why would it cause a crush if fans know they can't leave and need to stay in their seats? I am not sure why you think entertainment is so stupid they could have youth players playing a game or something. If the away end is cleared they could let the players back on for their round of honour. Is leaving before the end or shortly after such a necessity these days.

Your joking they love it and are getting away with it and have been for many years. I don't see things changing soon, Was this wishful thinking or another little mistakey jibe.

Certainly a possibility. Of course so is Administration number 681.

Celtic asking for safety assurances certainly. The Police reporting the lap of honour and letting Rangers fans leave first is common sense. I think the away supporters when needed should always be released first as letting the largest group go first just gives them a chance to set up ambushes. Teams could put on some entertainment for 15 minutes until the away crowd is away. I will also admit that I was pretty surprised to see the Killie supporters being released to walk down to to the Copeland Road, past the Subway crowd and turn right at Loudens bar. I don't know if that will be the Celtic route but it will be a powder keg moment. At the Grolsch Veste(FC Twente) the entrance to the away end is all fenced off and only the opposing supporters buses are allowed to enter. I would think that is a better idea for high risk games.