HERE WE GO: A dejected Bailey Rice of Rangers at full time during the UEFA Europa League

Benjamin Benjamin | February 9, 2025 | RANGERS FC NEWS | No Comments

A dejected Bailey Rice of Rangers at full time during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between Manchester United and Rangers F…Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Featured
Rangers starting XI v Queen’s Park: Bailey Rice & Rafael Fernandes start in Scottish Cup
Sun 9 February 2025 14:20
Cameron Willis
Rangers have confirmed their starting XI for the Scottish Cup clash with Queen’s Park at Ibrox.

Rangers are welcoming the Spiders to Ibrox for the first time since 2013, when both sides were playing in the old Third Division.

Here’s how Rangers line up against Queen’s Park for the Scottish Cup Glasgow Derby clash at Ibrox.

READ MORE: Rangers star to miss Scottish Cup clash due to SFA rules
Detail of a Rangers emblem on a corner flag ahead of the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD3 match between Rangers FC and Fotbal Club FCSB …

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Rangers starting XI v Queen’s Park (Scottish Cup)
Rangers have given goalkeeper Liam Kelly the chance to impress between the sticks against Queen’s Park.

Jack Butland has been reinstated to the side in recent weeks but Kelly gets his reward for impressing during a recent run in the team.

James Tavernier starts at right-back with Rangers starting winter signing Rafael Fernandes and Robin Propper at centre-back.

Jefte continues at left-back with the Brazilian making the berth his own this season.

In midfield, Rangers have started with Mohamed Diomande alongside emerging Scottish talent Bailey Rice.

MORE RANGERS STORIES
Rangers duo pass tough Premier League audition as Gers look to shift £2.2m burden
Rangers duo pass tough Premier League audition as Gers look to shift £2.2m burden
Rangers News
1 hour ago
Philippe Clement shares why he won’t play ‘too many’ Rangers youngsters
Philippe Clement shares why he won’t play ‘too many’ Rangers youngsters
Rangers News
1 hour ago
Gers star set to miss Glasgow Derby clash due to SFA rules as former striker returns to Ibrox
Gers star set to miss Glasgow Derby clash due to SFA rules as former striker returns to Ibrox
Rangers News
2 hours ago
Manager blown away as ex-Rangers hero writes his own script on poignant return to Scotland
Manager blown away as ex-Rangers hero writes his own script on poignant return to Scotland
Rangers News
2 hours ago
‘That’s not who I am’: double hero ‘100% committed’ to club despite Rangers ‘speculation’
‘That’s not who I am’: double hero ‘100% committed’ to club despite Rangers ‘speculation’
Rangers News
3 hours ago
Lyall Cameron told 3 Rangers qualities he has as Dundee boss says he’s ready after Scottish Cup canter
Lyall Cameron told 3 Rangers qualities he has as Dundee boss says he’s ready after Scottish Cup canter
Rangers News
19 hours ago

Rangers have started with Nedim Bajrami at left-wing with Ianis Hagi and Vaclav Cerny completing the team from back to front.

Up top, Hamza Igamane is preferred to Cyriel Dessers after the Nigeria striker banged in a hat-trick against Fraserburgh in the previous round.

Rangers team v Queen’s Park: Kelly, Tavernier, Fernandes, Propper, Jefte, Diomande, Rice, Hagi, Bajrami, Cerny, Igamane

Bench: Butland, Ridvan, Souttar, Dessers, Lawrence, Raskin, McCausland, Curtis

View Tweet
Philippe Clement expecting Scottish Cup fight
”I read that they’re not going to park the bus,” said Philippe Clement when asked about Queen’s Park ahead of the game.

”So they’re going to go full to fight and get the result, so that’s what I expect then.

”But it can be the bus also, so we will see at the end.

”It’s a team that can do good offensive actions, they have also really good interesting set-pieces that they clearly train on a lot.

”So they’re going to count on the counter attacks and the set-pieces for sure in this game and we need to focus on that.”

Related Topics
Scottish Cup
Chris Davies, Manager of Birmingham City leaves the tunnel at half-time during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Birmingham City and N…Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Rangers duo pass tough Premier League audition as Gers look to shift £2.2m burden
Sun 9 February 2025 13:00
Cameron Willis
Philippe Clement has been pretty clear when it comes to Rangers’ previous contract model.

The Ibrox club are currently paying the piper after doling out expensive contracts to middling English Championship players who have perennially underachieved.

It’s led to a dramatic period of downsizing during which Rangers cut the club’s wage bill by £6m in the summer and saw a number of experienced players leave for nothing.

It’s left the Rangers manager hamstrung in the transfer market and Rangers have had to be creative with transfers both in and out of the club.

As Rangers continues to trim the fat, the club has been handed an unlikely boost after two highly-paid Ibrox duds passed a major Premier League audition.

READ MORE: Lyall Cameron sends message to Dundee detractors after inspired Cup showing

Rangers trio play in Birmingham FA Cup defeat
Rangers loan pair Ben Davies and Kieran Dowell have come incredibly close to a legendary FA Cup upset in the blue of Birmingham City.

The two Ibrox stars are currently out on loan at St Andrews and played the full 90 minutes of the League One club’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Premier League Newcastle United.

In an entertaining cup tie in Birmingham, the Blues took an early lead in the game through Ethan Laird only for Joe Willock and Callum Wilson to flip the game on its head.

Ex-Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata drew the Blues level with a stunning strike before half-time and Birmingham might’ve carved out a legendary result had it not been for Willock’s late winner.

The 3-2 defeat sends the English League One leaders out of the FA Cup but will give Rangers encouragement when it comes to potential permanent deals for both players.

Birmingham have shown a willingness to sign players permanently from Ibrox recently too.

Winger Scott Wright joined Chris Davies’ side in the summer and also started against the Magpies.

Rangers looking to shift £2.2m Birmingham duo
Rangers have been desperate to ship out several high earners in the last two windows and have successfully got a number of players off the wage bill.

John Lundstram, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe left at the end of their contracts, whilst Connor Goldson soon followed them later in the window.

Rangers then shipped out the likes of Sam Lammers and Todd Cantwell, recouping only £800k in transfer fees such was the scale of their high-paying contracts.

Ben Davies is the perhaps the perfect example of Rangers’ recent wrong turns in the market, the Gers shelling out an initial £3m to sign the defender from Liverpool.

The former Preston centre-back has done little to justify his £1.4m per year contract (£27k per week) since.

Chris Davies, Manager of Birmingham City, acknowledges the fans after the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Birmingham City and Newcastle …

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Rangers continued their reshaping of the Ibrox squad this January with the likes of Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell heading up the departures.

With Dowell also doing little to justify his £830k per annum contract (£16k per week) at Rangers, the Gers will hope the midfielder can earn a summer move to St Andrews.

Between them both Davies and Dowell have put a £2.2m burden on the Rangers wage bill and let’s hope Birmingham can earn promotion before taking them on permanently this summer.

Related Topics
ben davies
kieran dowell
Scott Wright
transfer news
Rangers manager Philippe Clement is seen during the William Hill Premiership match between Rangers FC and Ross County FC at Ibrox Stadium on Februa…Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Philippe Clement shares why he won’t play ‘too many’ Rangers youngsters
Sun 9 February 2025 12:30
Blair Meikle
A few Rangers youngsters look set to keep getting chances between now and the end of the season.

The likes of Bailey Rice, Findlay Curtis, Clinton Nsiala have been in and around the first team recently and have shown up well when given the chance.

There has been a clamour from fans to see more of the club’s young talent in Philippe Clement’s side and many are excited by what the likes of Rice and Curtis can do.

Clement looks committed to giving them an opportunity when they have but is adamant that it must be earned.

He explained what Rice needs to do to become a Gers mainstay – namely improve his game out of possession having been “non-existent” in that department.

While the manager was “delighted” to get Curtis on a new three-year contract at the club.

While Nsiala has been assured in his performances in the backline with John Souttar the latest to dish out praise to his young teammate.

The trio and other youngsters could be involved against Queens Park in the Scottish Cup at Gers’ home today and it would seem the perfect opportunity to do that.

Bailey Rice of Rangers controls the ball during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between Manchester United and Rangers FC at O…
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
MORE RANGERS STORIES
Rangers duo pass tough Premier League audition as Gers look to shift £2.2m burden
Rangers duo pass tough Premier League audition as Gers look to shift £2.2m burden
Rangers News
1 hour ago
Philippe Clement shares why he won’t play ‘too many’ Rangers youngsters
Philippe Clement shares why he won’t play ‘too many’ Rangers youngsters
Rangers News
1 hour ago
Gers star set to miss Glasgow Derby clash due to SFA rules as former striker returns to Ibrox
Gers star set to miss Glasgow Derby clash due to SFA rules as former striker returns to Ibrox
Rangers News

Manager blown away as ex-Rangers hero writes his own script on poignant return to Scotland
Manager blown away as ex-Rangers hero writes his own script on poignant return to Scotland
Rangers News

‘That’s not who I am’: double hero ‘100% committed’ to club despite Rangers ‘speculation’
‘That’s not who I am’: double hero ‘100% committed’ to club despite Rangers ‘speculation’
Rangers News
3 hours ago
Lyall Cameron told 3 Rangers qualities he has as Dundee boss says he’s ready after Scottish Cup canter
Lyall Cameron told 3 Rangers qualities he has as Dundee boss says he’s ready after Scottish Cup canter
Rangers News
19 hours ago
Clement vows not to play “too many” Rangers youngsters
However, Clement isn’t prepared to flood his team full of youngsters having been stung in the past.

The Rangers boss is fully aware of the dangers of doing so after his Monaco side were knocked out of the cup by lower league outfit Rodez.

Previewing the game in his pre-match press conference, he said: “My memory of that match is I put too many young guys in to give them a chance.

“The experienced players in the team didn’t perform as they should have done to help the younger guys.

“On that day, the other team was 100 per cent efficient and had the day of their lives.

“So I know that cup games can always present something dangerous. You need to balance things really well.

“It happened to me once, so I don’t think of it as a warning for our game on Sunday.”

Clement aware of Queen’s Park threat
Clement knows Queen’s Park can pose his side a threat and has prepared for the game in the exact same way as he did for Manchester United and Tottenham.

And while he won’t play “too many” young players, some will get the chance to shine.

He added: “I had a lot of cup games that went a different way, both with Monaco and other teams. But it’s something that can happen every season in every league.

“We’re very ambitious for this game, and we fully respect Queen’s Park.

“We will have the same preparation that we had against Manchester United or Tottenham.

“I don’t say we won’t play younger players against Queen’s Park, because it’s part of the story that we need to give chances to young players to develop.

“If I don’t give them minutes, they can’t develop. It will be a mix, so they are surrounded by players with experience.”

Rangers predicted XI vs Queen’s Park: Hamza Igamane call to make an no place for academy hopefuls
Rangers predicted XI vs Queen’s Park: Hamza Igamane call to make an no place for academy hopefuls
John Souttar gives verdict on ‘quality’ Clinton Nsiala as Rangers try out new partnership
Featured
John Souttar gives verdict on ‘quality’ Clinton Nsiala as Rangers try out new partnership
Don Cowie singles out one Rangers star who’s ‘threat’ Ross County could not cope with
Featured
Don Cowie singles out one Rangers star who’s ‘threat’ Ross County could not cope with
Philippe Clement names the five Rangers stars who have improved so much in 2025 already
Featured
Philippe Clement names the five Rangers stars who have improved so much in 2025 already
More

Tags:RANGERS FC NEWS