Real Betis 1 Rangers 1 LIVE as Miranda magic leaves Clement counting outcomes on his calculator

Miranda does well to get to the byline for the hosts and his driven low ball across is inches away from the onrushing Diao at the back post and it squirms away from the winger.

A let off there, but it’s still…

Betis 0-1 Rangers

Birmancevic doubles the Sparta lead with a great finish.

Betis now need a response even more.

The corner breaks to Jose Cifuentes at the edge of the area and he meets it with some power, but it’s blocked well by the Betis defender.

The visitors break forward down the right through Lammers, who sends a good ball to the back post which reaches Sima, but the Senegalese attacker can’t quite get it fully under his spell and his low shot is deflected wide for a corner.

Decent opening that for Rangers.

William Carvalho has an effort from distance that’s comfortable for Jack Butland and Rangers try to counter, but it breaks down with a misplaced pass from Dessers.

The hosts have their first effort of the evening as they get in down the right hand side. Diao squares it well, but the shot is blocked and Rangers can clear.

Kuchta is the man to give Sparta the early lead in Cyprus, stroking the ball into corner.

Aris 0-1 Sparta.

The ball falls for the captain, and he fires his shot towards goal, but it skews wide under pressure.

There’s a bit of a sore one for Betis winger Diao early doors as he’s accidentally trodden on by Borna Barisic but he’s up to his feet, even if it’s a wee bit gingerly.

Kick-off is right around the corner with both sides in the tunnel, awaiting the signal to enter the pitch at the Benito Villamarin.

We’re just under 17 minutes away from the big kick-off, can Rangers take some Spanish steps towards the Europa League knockout rounds? We’ll find out soon enough.

Philippe Clement was speaking to Rangers TV in the build up to tonight’s big match and he was in a positive mood despite various setbacks plaguing his squad’s preparations. When asked directly how the final preparations had gone, the Belgian replied:

Not in the ideal way, the last couple of days with also losing Ryan Jack, and we hoped we could give him some minutes in this game, could have been important and also with Todd [Cantwell]. But it is what it is, we need to adapt and we’re going to adapt, so all the players who are here, they will go full power. We also have a lot of young guys out of [the] Academy on the bench so for them it is also a really good experience.

It’s an opportunity where you can go full. You know that you have European football after, that’s an important thing and you have a big challenge. I read in the newspapers that never a Scottish team has won in Seville, so it’s a really good challenge for my team, a lot of things to win and nothing to lose.

While a Rangers win will guarantee top spot, anything but said victory will open the door for Sparta Prague as they look to leapfrog either side as they get set to face Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

We’ll have all the latest news from the other match in Group C as it happens and here’s how the two teams will line up.

Aris XI: Vana (c), Yago, Moucketou-Moussounda, Urosevic, Caju, Mayambela, Szoke, Struski, Gomis, Bengtsson, Kokorin.

Sparta XI: Vindahl, Krejci (c), Sorensen, Vitik, Zeleny, Kairinen, Laci, Preciado, Haraslin, Birmancevic, Kuchta.

If you do fancy a bet on tonight’s proceedings – and indeed the competition’s outright winners – then the good folk at OLBG have got you covered.

OLBG – Real Betis vs Rangers

Real Betis – 19/20

Draw – 13/5

Rangers – 13/5

OLBG – Europa League Winner 2023/24

Liverpool – 12/5

Bayer Leverkusen – 13/2

Roma – 14/1

Brighton – 16/1

Atalanta – 20/1

Benfica – 20/1

Real Betis – 20/1

West Ham – 20/1

Feyenoord – 25/1

Sporting Lisbon – 25/1

Galatasaray – 28/1

Marseille – 28/1

Villareal – 28/1

Braga – 33/1

Lens – 33/1

Stade Rennes – 33/1

Rangers – 50/1

We’re into the final furlong before kick-off in Andalusia, with just under an hour to go.

With Ryan Jack failing a fitness test for this one and Todd Cantwell missing out due to personal circumstances, Rangers will feel they could have had some better preparation for a game of such magnitude.

With Danilo and Tom Lawrence also entering the long-term injury list, Rangers bench has a bit of a threadbare look, with youngsters Aaron Lyall, Adam Devine and Cole McKinnon all riding the pine.

Kemar Roofe and Rabbi Matondo can offer the visitors an attacking threat should they be required to enter the fray, but Philippe Clement will be hoping upon hope that his team can at least get through this one unscathed before Sunday’s League Cup Final showdown with old rivals Aberdeen at Hampden.

For all the talk of an injury crisis in the green half of Seville, Real Betis have a very strong squad to choose from and can call upon some star names to replace the likes of Nabil Fekir, Marc Bartra and Claudio Bravo.

The, seemingly improbable, return of the excellent William Carvalho in midfield is a major boost for the home side this evening as he brings a real calming influence in the middle of the park and he should pair excellently with the outstanding Isco.

We’re eagerly awaiting the team lines for this one, on tenterhooks you might even say, and we’ll bring it to you as soon as it’s in.

Will Kemar Roofe start up front? Will Ross McCausland return to the XI? Who will replace Todd Cantwell? We’ll bring you all the answers.

As well as UEFA Cup/Europa League finals played in the city of Seville, Scotland’s valiant defeat to Brazil at the 1982 World Cup was played in the Benito Villamarin itself, with David Narey’s stunning volley giving us the lead against the sensational Selecao of Brazil before they…well started playing like Brazil and secured a 4-1 victory.

Rangers have yet to secure a victory on Spanish soil against Spanish opponents, but the club’s most famous night came in Barcelona, in 1972, when Colin Stein scored one and a fella called Willie Johnston scored two.

With that said, the visitors have had some near misses when it comes to securing that elusive victory, most notably against Villarreal.

Having become the first Scottish club to qualify for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, in 2005/06, Rangers faced that Yellow Submarine vintage of Marcos Senna and Juan Roman Riquelme, drawing 2-2 at Ibrox and then remarkably hitting the front through Peter Lovenkrands at El Madrigal before Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s dramatic equaliser which sent the home side through on away goals. Kris Boyd had an unbelievable opportunity to win it and secure an unthinkable Quarter Final, but it wasn’t to be.

Then in 2018 under Steven Gerrard, they pushed the same opponents all the way once more, fighting back from Carlos Bacca’s first minute stunner to level through Scott Arfield before another Gerard, Moreno this time, restored the La Liga giant’s lead almost immediately. Kyle Lafferty then popped up to finish off a terrific team goal and level the match, before Graham Dorrans’ mazy run set up Arfield for a glorious chance in the final minute, only for the ball to be just nicked off the Canadian international’s foot by a backtracking yellow shirt before he could perform his trademark saluted celebration a second time.

Rangers will be hoping to channel these Spanish battles from yesteryear as they look to make history this evening.

Boiled down, this evening’s task for Rangers makes for fairly easy understanding – win and they top the group. However, in case the Light Blues don’t manage to secure their first victory against Spanish opposition on their own patch, we’ve got all the various permutations covered on what could be another extra special European away day.

Srdan Jovanovic leads an all-Serbian group of on-field officials for tonight’s ferocious final fixture in Group C of the Europa League, and he will be ably assisted by his linesmen Uros Stojkovic and Milan Mihajlovic, while Novak Simovic is tonight’s fourth official.

In the VAR Room, it’s a case of double Dutchmen as Pol van Boekel leads the men behind the monitors, assisted by his AVAR Clay Ruperti.

The man in the middle has little direct experience in charge of Scottish sides, aside from the 1-1 draw between Celtic and CFR Cluj in 2019, but he was the referee who sent off former Celtic right-back Hatem ben Elhamed when the Czech Republic defeated Israel 1-0 in Prague on the same day that Scotland lost 1-0 in neighbouring Slovakia.

It’s certainly a whole heap cooler than it was the last time that Rangers were in Andalusia – in the Final of this competition – with the mercury topping out at a supremely temperate 12C come kick-off time, and a lovely dry evening which should make for perfect conditions for this winner-takes-all tie.

Good evening and welcome to our LIVE coverage of what’s sure to be a barnstorming, backs-to-the-wall battle of the ages between Real Betis and Rangers.

With top spot awaiting the winners and a defeat putting the visitors bang in trouble in terms of qualification, it’s all to play for at the Estadio Benito Villamarin and we’ll have all the pre-match build up, match action and reaction angles covered on a huge night for Rangers ahead of Cup Final Sunday.

Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay has told Rangers or any other transfer suitor they would need to make an “exceptional” bid to land Lawrence Shankland in next month’s transfer window.

The Scotland striker has been heavily linked with a move to his boyhood heroes, who are in the market for a forward in January with Philippe Clement in desperate need of more firepower.

Danilo is out injured for months while big-money signings Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers have failed to hit the heights demanded at Ibrox. READ MORE

Rangers boss Philippe Clement has revealed that playmaker Todd Cantwell has not travelled to Spain for the clash with Real Betis due to personal circumstances.

Rangers face a Betis side who are unbeaten at their Estadio Benito Villamarín fortress all season – as well as in La Liga home and away since September – and Belgian boss Clement knows they need a win to guarantee that they escape the group stage of the Europa League this term.

It is said to be a dramatic finish with Sparta Prague also having a chance of overtaking both the Scottish Premiership side and Betis – which would see the Ibrox outfit drop into the Europa Conference League.

However, if they are to make it they will have to do it without Cantwell with Clement stating he would miss the game due to a “family matter” at his pre-match press conference as he explained Cantwell’s absence. READ MORE

Our man Andy Newport is back in Seville over 18 months on from the night Rangers came so close to European glory.

The city’s other stadium ran out of water in the stifling heat, leaving fans parched as they had their hearts broken by Eintracht Frankfurt and Aaron Ramsey.

It should be a more comfortable night this time, on the park at least, as Andy’s dispatch from the south of Spain explains. READ MORE

Hello and welcome to LIVE blog No 2 of the night!

Unlike the Aberdeen clash against Frankfurt, there’s plenty riding on this one for Rangers away to Real Betis.

We’ll have every kick from Seville right here, so don’t say adios too early.