'Crucial' - Scott Allan makes claim on under-fire Rangers ace vs int'l star tonight

James Tavernier holding up defensively against Wilfried Zaha has been highlighted as “crucial” for Rangers to get a result against Lyon by Scott Allan.

The Kelty Heart player-coach told PLZ Soccer on 2 October that the calibre of attacking players the Ligue 1 side will bring to Ibrox for the 3 October Europa League clash poses a threat.

But he admitted the Light Blues’ record in the Europa League in recent years, especially at home, shows they can get a result.

Allan said (41m 10s): “In terms of how successful Rangers have been at Ibrox in terms of the Europa League competition, and going off how well European teams have done in Europe, then Rangers have played more difficult teams at Ibrox and won over the years.

“On Sunday it wasn’t a great performance but the Malmo win will have given them a lot of confidence. I just feel if he [Philippe Clement] gets it right in midfield they could cause problems because we know this will be an all out attack Lyon team.

“That battle between Zaha on the left-hand side against Tav could be crucial.”

Rangers look to build on Malmo victory under Philippe Clement

Zaha, 31, may have only made a couple of appearances for his new side so far but started the win against Toulouse on 29 September.

The 33-cap Ivory Coast international is on loan from Galatasaray where he scored 10 times last term, and his 68 English Premier League goals for Crystal Palace are evidence enough of the threat he will pose.

Tavernier’s defensive weaknesses have been in the spotlight for much of the past 6 months, albeit usually as part of trade-off with his immense attacking output.

But the latter has fallen away so far this season during a run of poor form that has seen him targeted for abuse after the Old Firm derby defeat to Celtic and heavily-linked with a belated move to Turkey [HITC, 12 September].

The captain was widely expected to leave in the summer at the same time vice-captain Connor Goldson moved on and staying hasn’t worked out especially well for him so far.

A strong performance against a European heavyweight would conjure memories of his outstanding form in this competition on the way to Seville three seasons ago, and help take the pressure off his shoulders.

Ex-Ibrox ace Kevin Thomson suggested on 23 September the 32-year-old would prefer not to be the captain any longer so he could play without the weight of the role on top of him.

Philippe Clement has continued to pick him for every game regardless of his struggles so far this season, but a rough night against Zaha is likely to increase the clamour for Dujon Sterling or Neraysho Kasanwirjo to get the nod at right-back instead.

In other Rangers news, a relatively new player has joined the club’s leadership group despite struggling to get into Clement’s XI.

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