How will Rangers midfielder Lassana Coulibaly cope v Roman Zobnin?

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Rangers host Spartak Moscow on Thursday night at Ibrox and the Scottish giants will be keen to continue their impressive form in Europe under Steven Gerrard.

The Gers have picked up four points from their opening two group matches of the Europa League and now have two fixtures against Russian opponents.

Spartak sacked their manager Massimo Carrera after a defeat at the weekend, but still have some talented individuals and should provide a stern test.

One of their talisman is midfield enforcer Roman Zobnin, who is renowned for his tough-tackling in the centre of the park.

The 24-year-old played every minute for national side Russia in the summer World Cup, as the hosts were eliminated by Croatia in the quarter-finals on penalties.

Zobnin is an authoritative figure in the midfield and it will be intriguing to see how Rangers’ Lassana Coulibaly copes with him.

Coulibaly, 22, is a no-nonsense midfielder built in a similar way to the Spartak chief and it could be a colossal battle between the pair.

The Gers ace will need to be wary of Zobnin’s strength and intelligence in possession, but it will be a great learning curve for him and manager Gerrard is the perfect man to help guide him through the midfield tussle.

Coulibaly has shown he doesn’t look out of place on the European stage and in the home leg should be feeling confident.