‘Not the team they were’ - Rangers Premiership rivals given European hope by division expert

European football returns to Ibrox this evening as Rangers kick off their 2023/24 UEFA Europa League campaign with the visit of Spanish outfit Real Betis.

Michael Beale’s side are looking to put the disappointment of crashing out of the Champions League in the play-off round behind them and will be dreaming of another superb run in this competition, just like they managed in 2021. Giovanni van Bronckhorst led the Gers to the final that year where they ultimately fell at the final hurdle against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Their opponents from that night are also in action this evening and are set to host Aberdeen at the Deutsche Bank Park in the Europa Conference League. With the Dons having had a poor start to their domestic season, many are not expecting them to return from Germany with a positive result but one commentator has given them a sliver of hope.

Derek Rae, the Scottish commentator who has worked across the world and is currently a lead voice for English commentary on the Bundesliga, says that Frankfurt are ‘not the team they were’ when they beat Rangers on penalties at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “Eintracht Frankfurt will be going into the Conference League firmly believing they can win it, they will see that as the ultimate goal.

“They are a massive institution on the rise. They sell out every game and it’s a special place to watch a game. A very passionate club, a traditional club, they are respected up and down Germany, not just for their fans but for their history. They are not the team they were a couple of years ago when they beat Rangers in the Europa League final.

“The strengths are more middle to front. If you want to identify weaknesses you might say defensively, but that is still difficult to judge because they are in transition after saying goodbye to some high profile players and bringing in replacements. There is a lack of consistency and they sometimes struggle against teams that are very compact and clog the middle of the pitch but, for Aberdeen, it doesn’t get much more difficult for starters.”