Where to watch Rangers vs. Tottenham Hotspur lineups, odds: Europa League prediction, live stream, pick

Tottenham Hotspur aim to climb up the UEFA Europa League table on Thursday when they travel to Rangers for a crucial European fixture. Spurs sit ninth heading into Matchday 6, boasting three wins out of five but coming off some mixed results in domestic and continental play. Rangers have an identical record but outpace Spurs slightly on goal differential, putting them in eighth place heading into the top-tier Europa League clash.

Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.

How to watch and odds

• Date: Thursday, Dec. 12 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Ibrox Stadium — Glasgow, Scotland
• Watch: Paramount+
• Odds: Rangers +230; Draw +280; Tottenham Hotspur -105

Storylines

Tottenham remain one of the Premier League’s and the Europa League’s top attacking sides but have not exactly been able to capitalize on their offensive strengths in recent weeks. Since beating Manchester City 4-0 in domestic play last week, they are winless in four and that big win is their only in their last seven. Their attack turns up some days and goes absent on others – scoring 11 goals in four of their last seven matches and just two in the other three. They have been a bit porous at the back, conceding 12 goals during that seven-game stretch, but they have not been on the wrong side of lopsided defeats – be they high-scoring games or more modest matchups, Spurs have only lost by one goal on the days they came out with no points.

It makes Tottenham a peculiar team to examine, but perhaps some of it can be explained by their injury crisis. Ange Postecoglou has described the long list of injuries as the worst in his managerial career “by a fair stretch,” with some very important players ineligible to play. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is out after fracturing his ankle against City, while centerbacks Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are back on the sidelines after making brief returns in Sunday’s loss to Chelsea. Ben Davies, a rotational option across the back line, is also out while Richarlison and promising newcomer Wilson Odobert are dealing with long-term issues.

The injury crisis makes things difficult for Postecoglou, who started this season by rotating through his options but might be unable to now despite the business of the festive season for English clubs. Still, expect Radu Dragusin to fill a role in the back line while Son Heung-min, Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison could still make things happen in attack.

Projected lineup

Forster, Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Udogie, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Werner, Solanke, Son

Prediction

Considering Spurs’ injury crisis, this will be a hard-fought game for the visitors but if they are able to get the best out of their attackers on Thursday, they might just come out of Scotland with a win. Pick: Rangers 0, Tottenham Hotspur 2