Notable numbers from Man United vs Rangers
United are in a difficult time. Despite a commendable draw with Liverpool in the Premier League and a win over Arsenal in the FA Cup, their overall performance has been unconvincing. After a hard-fought 3-1 win over Southampton, United lost 3-1 at home to Brighton.
After that defeat, Amorim said that this was "the worst team, perhaps, in the history of Man United". Although somewhat exaggerated, this comment also highlighted the current situation of Man United, with the resounding success in the past in the Premier League era.
The Europa League match is an opportunity for Man United to regain the joy of victory. Coach Ruben Amorim can rotate the squad to bring freshness to the team.
However, captain Bruno Fernandes is unlikely to get a rest and if the Portuguese midfielder plays, this will be his 50th appearance in this tournament.
Bruno has a total of 37 goals and assists in the Europa League (20 goals, 17 assists), second only to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34 goals, 6 assists) in the entire history of the competition.
Man United's situation in the Europa League is not as tense as in the Premier League. Bruno and his teammates have 12 points, ranked 7th and only need 1 more victory, Man United is almost sure to be in the Top 8 to get a ticket to continue. In the last time playing in the Europa League, Man United won 2-1 against Viktoria Plzen.
Rangers go into the game in better form than the hosts. They have won their last three games in all competitions and are on a seven-match unbeaten run, including a 3-0 win over Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.
Rangers are just one point behind United in the Europa League standings, sitting eighth. So a defeat for either side at this point could prove costly in the end, as they could then be forced into a play-off for a place in the last 16.
Rangers are likely to be without a number of players due to injury. Tom Lawrence has a hamstring injury and is unlikely to face his former club.
Jack Butland is another former United player who is likely to miss out. Danilo and Ianis Hagi will not play, while Oscar Cortes is also a minor injury doubt.
Head to head record Man United vs Rangers
Man United can rest assured because of the positive statistics about their head-to-head record against their Scottish opponents. The Old Trafford team has been unbeaten in all four previous encounters with Rangers, keeping a clean sheet in all four matches (W4, D1).
Rangers have won just one of their eight away games against English sides in all European competitions (D2 L5). That was when they beat Leeds United 2-1 in the second round of the 1992-93 UEFA Champions League. This season, Rangers drew 1-1 at Tottenham in Matchday 6.
Overall, Man United have not been impressive this season, but they are still rated higher than Rangers.
The match between Man United and Rangers will take place at 3:00 a.m. on January 24.
