The Rangers Football Club

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Match Odds: Unirea Urziceni 2.00 Draw 3.25 Rangers 4.00

Rangers FC have made three visits to Romania for competitive games and are yet to score a goal.

Consecutive 4-1 home defeats have left the Scottish champions with it all to do to stay in Group G contention, while the Romanian titleholders have climbed up to second position thanks to their first win in UEFA club competition on Matchday 3 and will be aiming to consolidate that at the Steaua Stadium.

• Unirea had drawn two and lost two of their first four European matches prior to their visit to Glasgow and made the worst possible start when Ricardo Vilana’s own goal gave Rangers a second-minute lead. Marius Bilasco equalised, however, and after Daniel Tudor had saved Steven Davis’s penalty the second period began with both Rangers substitute Kyle Lafferty and team-mate Lee McCulloch scoring for Unirea. Pablo Brandán added a fourth to leave Walter Smith’s team bottom of the standings with one point from three outings.

Match background
• Before the Ibrox meeting, Rangers had played six competitive fixtures with Romanian opponents, all against FC Steaua Bucureşti. There is much scope for improvement in their away record because they failed to score in any of the three games.

• Rangers lost twice to Steaua, 2-0 in the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-finals – with Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant, now on their coaching staff, both playing – and 1-0 in the 1995/96 UEFA Champions League group stage. Their first visit to the Romanian capital, in the 1969/70 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup first round, ended 0-0.

• Unirea had never faced a Scottish team in a UEFA club fixture prior to Matchday 3.

• The Romanian club are in only their second season in UEFA competition and are still to win at home, losing 2-0 against Hamburger SV in last season’s UEFA Cup first round and drawing 1-1 with VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 2.

• Rangers’ last away win in the UEFA Champions League group stage came with a 3-0 triumph at Olympique Lyonnais on 2 October 2007. They have since lost two away games and drawn the other, at Stuttgart on Matchday 1, in the competition proper.

Team ties
• Unirea coach Dan Petrescu played for Romania against Scotland in the Steaua Stadium in October 1991, a UEFA European Championship qualifier that ended 1-0 to the home team. He also played in Glasgow 13 months previously with Scotland winning 2-1, current Rangers assistant manager McCoist scoring the winner.

• Petrescu scored for Chelsea FC in a 3-1 victory against Everton FC at Stamford Bridge in May 1999, during Rangers manager Smith’s first season in charge of the Merseyside club.

• Smith got a measure of revenge in 2000/01 as Everton beat a Bradford City AFC side featuring Petrescu 1-0 at Valley Parade in November 2000.

• For the past two summers Unirea have had a pre-season tour of Scotland. This year they played Celtic FC behind closed doors, drawing 1-1, and defeated Greenock Morton FC 3-1. Elsewhere on that tour Unirea lost 2-1 to English side Plymouth Argyle FC at Balgray Playing Fields in Glasgow and beat Ayr United FC 2-1.

• In 2008 Unirea drew 2-2 with Celtic and 1-1 with Livingston FC, as well as beating Saint Johnstone FC 4-0 and Motherwell FC 2-1.

Sunday’s match at Tannadice between Dundee United and Rangers in the Scottish Premier League was abandoned at half-time because of heavy rain.

Rangers had been leading through Steven Davis’s 29th-minute strike.

But referee Mike Tumilty informed Rangers boss Walter Smith and United’s Craig Levein about his concerns over surface water and stopped the game.

“Towards half-time, it became nearly impossible and I did not want the game to become farcical,” said Tumelty.

No date has yet been agreed for the re-arranged match.

The abandonment leaves Rangers third in the Scottish Premier League, four points adrift of leaders Celtic and one behind Hibernian, while United missed out on the chance of going above fourth-placed Motherwell.

But both managers agreed that the decision to stop the match was correct after Tumilty raised concerns over safety during the half-time interval.

“There was a lot of water lying on the pitch and, as the first half went on, the water started to lie, particularly at the goalmouth,” said Tumilty.

“The safety of the players could have become a real risk.

“I saw Allan McGregor drop the ball and you could have a whole melee of players in there with boots flying.

“Players were struggling to keep on their feet, so I was concerned for their safety.

“I felt, if we could get through to half-time and evaluate the situation, but the rain was getting heavier and, from my point of view, with that amount of water on the pitch and the incidents towards the end of the first-half, I just didn’t think we could get back on.

We went out and checked it during the half-time interval and it really wasn’t any better.”

Tumilty informed the managers at half-time, and while both were disappointed, they accepted the decision.

United manager Levein said: “The rain wasn’t going off. If it had stopped, there was maybe a chance that we could have continued.

“We’re gutted, because it’s the best we’ve played for so long.

“The lads were devastated when I told them it was off, as they felt they had a chance of getting back into the game.

“I’ve got a degree of sympathy for Mike. At the start of the game, it was playable, but the rain has been so incessant throughout the game that he had no choice.”

Smith was disappointed to be denied a possible victory but agreed that the referee had little choice.

“Obviously we’re disappointed the game got called off, but as far as we’re concerned, the referee’s decision is one I think is correct and was a difficult one for him to make,” said the Rangers manager.

“There was water starting to lie at the bottom end of the pitch and he felt it could be a danger to the players and I don’t think anybody can argue with him there.

“Obviously, we were disappointed – so was the referee – I felt he had an excellent game today in difficult circumstances.

“We’re obviously delighted we got through it without any injuries, but the disappointment from my own point of view is that we went one up and we find ourselves in a situation where the game gets abandoned.”

Allan McGregor, David Weir, Davis, Kris Boyd, Steven Naismith and Kenny Miller had all been drafted back into the Rangers side after the midweek Co-operative Insurance Cup win over Dundee.

United manager Levein brought in Nicky Weaver, Darren Dods, Craig Conway, Jennison Myrie-Williams, Damian Casalinuovo and Paul Dixon after their defeat by St Johnstone, but Andy Webster was dropped as a result of the terms of his loan deal from the Ibrox club.

Dixon and Mihael Kovacevic both had efforts that struck the Rangers crossbar during an exciting first half.

However, Davis broke the stalemate on the half hour when Sasa Papac flighted in a high ball and the Irishman beat the offside trap to coolly slot past Weaver.

Tannadice – 01/11/09 – 1245 BST
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Match Odds: Dundee Utd 4.50 Draw 3.40 Rangers 1.83

Andy Webster will miss Dundee United’s meeting with Rangers on Sunday under the terms of his loan move from the Scottish champions.

Garry Kenneth will therefore start alongside Darren Dods at the heart of defence, and player-coach Steve Banks fills in for the injured Nicky Weaver.

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Rangers striker Kenny Miller:

“We need to improve our performances and start winning games and that’s what we’re focused on.

“We are only a point off the top and we are disappointed we are not top.

“Last week against Hibs was probably the best we’ve played all season.

“We created a lot of chances – as they did – but we had the better chances and should have taken a couple more.”

Dundee United manager Craig Levein:

“It’s a coincidence that we’re playing Rangers three years on and if it’s the same result, I’d be delighted.

“It has been some three years for both clubs. Obviously, we’ve overhauled things here but Rangers have also gone through a lot of changes.

“Paul Le Guen was the manager in that first game but, since then, they’ve appointed Walter and he gave them a massive lift.

“They’ve not had their troubles to seek in recent weeks but, for me, that makes them dangerous.

“They are a wounded animal at the moment and we all know that when a club like Rangers gets criticised, they come out fighting.

“With Walter in charge, they have a man with loads of experience who can lead them through this.”

Rangers (from): McGregor, Whittaker, Papac, Weir, Smith, Davis, Fleck, Naismith, Lafferty, Miller, Novo, Boyd, Beasley, Loy, Wilson, Rothen, Thomson, Alexander.

Walter Smith:

“It was a difficult game. I thought Dundee played very well and stretched us.

“Dundee have got some good players. They have bought players to get them out of the First Division.
“Once we got the second goal, which was a bit fortunate, we seemed to take a bit from that and finished the game strongly.
“Danny Wilson was excellent and I was pleased with Jordan McMillan, while John Fleck finished strongly.”

Dens Park – 27/10/09 – 1945 BST
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Match Odds: Dundee 7.00 Draw 4.50 Rangers 1.44

Dundee will have an unchanged squad for the Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Dens Park.

Defenders David Cowan and Craig McKeown, plus midfielder Colin Cameron, miss out again with groin injuries.

Young defender Danny Wilson will start for Rangers after Lee McCulloch was added to their injury list.

Fellow defender Madjid Bougherra is also still missing through injury along with Ibrox midfielders Pedro Mendes and Kevin Thomson.

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Dundee manager Jocky Scott:

“We’ll go and enjoy it. We’ll be up for it and work hard.

“The pressure is not on us for a change because every league game we play, teams raise their game to play against us and this time everyone expects Rangers to win.

“If we can play to our potential, then we have a chance.”

Rangers manager Walter Smith:
“They’ll look forward to a big game against Premier League oppositions, beating Aberdeen in the last round.

“It’ll be a big night for them and one that we ourselves have to go into the proper manner.

“We’ve not lost a cup tie since we came back. We lost a League Cup Final to Celtic, but we’ve managed to win the rest since I’ve come back here, so hopefully we can keep that going.

“We’ve got a number of injuries, but it’ll be an opportunity for our younger players to take part in the game.”

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Rangers (from): McGregor, Whittaker, Weir, Papac, Smith, Naismith, Davis, Fleck, Lafferty, Boyd, Miller, Novo, Alexander, Rothen, Beasley, Loy, Wilson, McMillan.