Rangers enter Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Ludogorets balancing strong domestic form with European frustration. Danny Rohl’s side have won six successive matches in all competitions, yet they
remain without a victory in this season’s Europa League and sit 33rd in the 36-team table with two group fixtures left.
The Scottish club’s latest success came in the Scottish Cup, where Rangers defeated Annan Athletic 5-0. That result extended a winning streak that has eased earlier pressure, but it has not repaired their Europa League campaign, where qualification for the knockout phase play-off round is now highly unlikely.
Rangers have taken only one point from their first six Europa League matches this term. The team are winless in nine games in this competition, with two draws and seven defeats since a 3-1 victory over Fenerbahce last March, and risk matching an unwanted European sequence from 2008 to 2010.
Across major European tournaments, the last time Rangers went 10 games without a win ran from April 2008 to September 2010. That context adds weight to the Ludogorets fixture at Ibrox, even though the league phase table already makes progress unlikely and leaves Rohl managing expectations as well as results.
Ludogorets arrive in Glasgow with more realistic hopes of extending their European campaign. Per-Mathias Hogmo’s side are 23rd with seven points, level with Celtic, and remain in reach of the play-off positions. The Bulgarian champions therefore treat this match as a live opportunity, not just a formal step in the schedule.
This will be Ludogorets’ first competitive meeting with Scottish opposition in Europe. Previous ties against British clubs have all been versus English sides, producing one draw and five defeats. They conceded at least two goals in each of those six fixtures, a record that offers encouragement but no guarantees for Rangers.
Rangers’ most recent European clash with a Bulgarian team dates back to the 1966-67 Cup Winners’ Cup. That season, Rangers defeated Slavia Sofia 1-0 in both semi-final legs to reach the final. The long gap since then underlines how uncommon such pairings have been for the Glasgow club.
At first, we enjoyed six wins in a row, and the other part is that we need to value every win, Rohl said.There was a time not long ago when a win was not normal for us. It's great at the moment to see this run. It's also the reason why tomorrow we go with a strong starting lineup in this game, and hopefully we can continue on the weekend. It's a competition where we haven't won so far. I think that is our challenge tomorrow, to win our first game in this competition. It's also important that we keep the momentum.
Despite the slim prospects of advancing, Rohl has ruled out heavy rotation. The head coach views the European fixtures, and the domestic schedule around them, as linked steps in rebuilding standards, insisting that performance levels and consistency matter even if the table now offers limited room for late movement.
It's important that we start tomorrow to get more points on the table, and we know next week we also face a strong opponent, Rohl added. Between this week, we still have an important league game, and I think it's step by step at the moment. I won't rest so many players for tomorrow. We will go with a strong group. This point is very important for us. We need to be successful in the league, otherwise it's not a topic for us. We have 16 games in the league, two games in Europe, and four cup games hopefully to go. And if we get a lot of points in this, then we will have a good summer.
The meeting with Ludogorets therefore serves several purposes for Rangers. The club seek their first Europa League win of the season, aim to regain credibility in European competition, and hope to protect confidence ahead of 16 remaining league fixtures and possible further cup ties during a demanding campaign.
