RANGERS’ fourth successive Europa League campaign gets underway on Thursday evening when Olympique Lyonnais visit Ibrox.

The French outfit have previous with Rangers. Having been drawn in the same Champions League group back in the 2007/08 season, Walter Smith’s side won 3-0 on French soil before being beaten by the same scoreline in the reverse fixture.

Lyon of course reached the Champions League semi-final just two seasons ago, beating Manchester City and Juventus before being knocked out by Bayern Munich.

"They are arguably the most talented squad we have faced in Europe so far and have a squad full of top young players," was the view of first-team coach Michael Beale.

Of the teams that Rangers have faced in European competition, only Porto and Villarreal rank higher in UEFA’s club coefficient.

The season so far

Fives games into their domestic campaign Lyon have won twice, drawn twice and lost on the other occasion.

A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Angers, managed by their own former assistant Gerald Baticle, was a game that saw Lyon dominated in transition and pressed aggressively into conceding an opener.

A 3-3 draw with Clermont demonstrated the talent they possess offensively in a superb performance by chance-creation metrics, but in equal measure displayed defensive fragility as they conceded two late goals.

A 1-1 home draw with Brest perhaps offered some indication as to how Rangers can set up without the ball against Peter Bosz' side, while a 1-0 victory against Nantes was a more complete performance.

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Sunday’s 3-1 win over Strasbourg again epitomised how effective Lyon can be when moving the ball forward quickly, but they were outperformed on xG metrics 2.37 to 1.68.

Key players

Houssem Aouar

23-year-old midfielder Aouar has been coveted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs in recent windows, Arsenal in particular have been attributed to having a long-held interest in the playmaker.

Aouar is the latest high-profile graduate of Lyon’s renowned youth academy which has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Tanguy Ndombele, Nabil Fekir, Corentin Tolisso, Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial and more.

Aouar had an xG of 0.59 across all competitions last year, five touches in the opposition penalty box and 13 offensive duels, per 90.

Beale said of his talent: “At 22, he has a huge future and for young players, he is a great example of close control, the ability to twist/turn away from pressure and to change the speed of the game when needed.”

Moussa Dembele

The ex-Celtic forward had a forgettable loan stint at Atletico Madrid last season, but his 19/20 season which saw him earn a move to Spain featured 24 goals.

Supporters will be in no doubt of the quality Dembele possesses, summated by his sublime individual effort in a 3-1 win over Strasbourg on Sunday.

Xherdan Shaqiri

After winning the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool, Swiss international Shaqiri signed for Lyon in the summer and made an impressive debut on Sunday.

He scored three times at EURO 2020 and can play across the attacking midfield positions.

Lucas Paqueta

An attacking midfielder, Paqueta is a left-footer with all the skill and unpredictability usually associated with a Brazilian forward.

Last season for Lyon, Paqueta averaged 7.68 passes into the final third per/90, 2.92 passes into the penalty area, 2.82 touches in the penalty area and won 49% of 11.38 offensive duels.

What players are they missing?

According to L’Equipe, Lyon are hopeful that Brazillian players Bruno Guimarães, Lucas Paquetá and Tino Kadewere will be able to face Rangers on Thursday.

Under Scottish Government rules, the trio would be denied entry unless they can gain an exemption having returned from red-list countries.

Shaqiri does not have a full Vaccine passport and therefore cannot travel.

French station Radio Scoop has reported that Dembele could miss the trip due to a muscle injury. 

A view from the press box

Jonathan Johnson is a French-based football correspondent for CBS sports and Robin Bairner is a French football expert, his work can be found in Goal and Football Transfers.

How have Lyon started the season?

JJ: "Fairly slowly, hence their mid-table position coming off the international break. Next week's clash with PSG will give us a better indication of how Lyon might be able to compete with the Ligue 1 big guns, but Peter Bosz has been made to work hard in his first few months in the job and that is just scratching the surface of what can and needs to be done with OL to get them challenging for silverware again."

RB: "Lyon have started the season pretty dreadfully, although they've managed to win eight points from five games and have only lost once. New head coach Peter Bosz has tried to drastically change their system and there's no doubt that's caused significant problems.

"He wants them to play in a highly technical way, passing out from the back and pressing intensely when out of possession, but the squad simply hasn't got their head around it yet. They've been guilty of giving possession away cheaply in dangerous areas and it's remarkable they've not been more heavily punished.

"They've not even really had to face a proper test yet, having not faced a team that finished in the top half of the table last season. However, there have been some positive signs, most notably in the 3-1 win over Strasbourg at the weekend."

Has the squad improved in quality overall following the summer transfer window?

JJ: "Overall, I think that it was a good summer for Lyon. Xherdan Shaqiri and Emerson are quality additions to the squad and if we are speaking solely in terms of what they bring on the pitch, Jerome Boateng also adds a lot.

READ MORE: Rangers Europa League defensive options against Lyon explained - Derek Clark

"However, losing a talismanic figure in Memphis Depay is always difficult to recover from and cashing in on Maxwel Cornet, Joachim Anderson, Jean Lucas and Melvin Bard was more out of necessity rather than choice."

RB: "Lyon only lost a couple of regular starters in the summer, but one of those was Memphis Depay, who was the player their attack revolved around. The other player to go was Maxwel Cornet, who has gone to Burnley, but he has been upgraded with the arrival of Emerson on loan from Chelsea.

"The big-name attacking arrival is Xherdan Shaqiri, who they got at a good price from Liverpool. The Switzerland attacker will get regular football in Lyon but has only played once so far. Similarly, Jerome Boateng has joined in a bid to bolster that leaky backline. His experience should aid Lyon tremendously but he is clearly lacking in sharpness, having been without a club since June."

How do Lyon set up tactically? 

JJ: "Bosz is still getting the players to buy into his style and the result has been a bit of disarray which we saw in Angers on day two. Once the likes of Shaqiri, Emerson and Boateng settle in, we will be able to better judge the set style.

"So far, it is between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3 with Aouar obviously more of a threat further forward. Dembele, who Rangers fans will remember from his time with Celtic, is also enjoying a new lease of life."

RB: "Bosz wants them to play in a 4-3-3 formation but after the poor start to the season they have shifted back to a 4-2-3-1. It may well be that he uses the Europa League to try to get back to his original plan. This is a competition that could be seen as an opportunity to test out players and tactics.

"They have been weak defending transitions so far this season, although often these situations have been brought upon themselves by giving the ball away in cheap areas, while they have not mastered the press that the coach wants, often leaving the back four, which is rather sluggish, exposed."

How are Rangers viewed as an opponent in France?

JJ: "Rangers are known in France as one of Scottish football's leading teams and a club with significant European pedigree. Obviously, Steven Gerrard is a draw too while Lyon fans in particular will remember Rangers as the club which Paul Le Guen followed up a successful string of Ligue 1 titles with."

RB: "Lyon certainly do expect a difficult match, which is why they are pushing so hard for a solution to be found to the Paqueta-Guimaraes (and Kadewere) impasse.

"They recognise that they are under pressure because of their own results but equally they have faced Rangers before in the Champions League and know to expect a great atmosphere at Ibrox. Winning in such situations is never easy. Nevertheless, they have that trip to PSG at the weekend that is occupying a corner of their thoughts."