Rangers take on Lech Poznan of Poland in their second Europa League group match at Ibrox this evening and will be hoping to build on their 2-0 win over Standard Liege in Belgium last week with another victory.

Here, Leszek Urban, who covers Lech for the Football World website, gives Herald and Times readers the lowdown on the side Steven Gerrard’s team will take on in the Group D encounter.

Q: Lech Poznan were without their first choice centre half Lubomir Satka in the 4-2 defeat to Benfica last week. What difference will his return make against Rangers?

A: “Lubomir Satka’s absence against Benfica was the result of the red card he received in the qualifier against Charleroi of Belgium - and Lech Poznan missed him badly.

“The Slovakian is definitely one of their best players. His presence is so important. It was evident in the last match against Benfica that Dorde Crnomarković and Tomasz Dejewski, who played in the centre of the defence together, did not have a good understanding.

“Crnomarkovic has played well alongside Satka. However, he hasn’t travelled to Scotland because he is injured. It is a big loss for Lech.

“I think that Thomas Rogne will come in because he is more experienced than Dejewski. I am sure Rogne will want to do well against Rangers because he is a former Celtic player. Unless, that is, he is injured again.”

Q: Has Rogne done well at Lech?

A: “He is a player who gets injured a great deal and it irritates the fans. Rogne was supposed to play against Jagiellonia before the Benfica game - but he got injured during the warm-up.”

Q: How does manager Dariusz Zuraw like his Lech team to play?

“Dariusz Żuraw is a trainer who is still developing. This is only his second season in charge of Lech. But it wasn't really until spring this year, in the matches that took place after the Covid-19 shutdown, that his philosophy was really visible.

“He says that he wants his team to play offensively. But in the Ekstraklasa so far this season they have been average. They are in 10th place after seven games.”

Q: Who are the Lech danger men?

A: “Mikael Ishak has come to Lech to replace Christian Gytkjaer, who was top scorer last season. From the very start he had shown that he can play football. He scored in the qualifying rounds and against Benfica. The Rangers defenders will have a tough night at Ibrox this evening.

“Rangers will also have to pay close attention to Lech youngsters Tymoteusz Puchacz, their left back, and Jakub Moder, a midfielder. Moder signed for Brighton player for €11m this month and was immediately loaned back to Lech.

“Midfielders Pedro Tiba and Dani Ramirez are important players for Lech. But Tiba, an attacking player, been ruled out of the game due to injury. Jakub Kaminski, their talented winger, will also not be involved. Lech will be weaker without them.”

Q: What expectations do Lech supporters have of their team in Europe?

A: “In the Europa League, Lech has no particularly goal other than to win as many games. The fans hope they win in every game. However, they are aware that the Europa League takes second place to the league. They know that in order to qualify for Europe again, they need to do well in their own country.”

You can follow Leszek on Twitter on @Pilkarskiswiat.