Will the temple of tradition and history make life miserable for the finely-engineered German machine?

Scottish champions Rangers FC weren't among the favourites when this season of the UEFA Europa League kicked off back in September, but strong performances from the self-proclaimed most successful club in the world have gotten them on the brink of the final. However, there is one last hurdle in their way, and that is last week's one-goal deficit from Leipzig.

RB Leipzig are a club fuelled by money coming from the best-known energy drink in the world - and they are also being managed like a company with only one goal in mind - to make money. Perhaps it would be a bit harsh and cynical to label Leipzig as a "non-football club" because they have been doing the sports side of football remarkably well. The only question is whether you've got a problem with the notion of "modern football" and everything it brings to the table. If you've got a problem with the origin of money that ends up in football, you will probably be rooting for Rangers tonight.

Anyway, we'll leave the philosophical side of the game for now - we've got a game to attend to.

Leipzig beat Rangers 1-0 in the first leg thanks to a beautiful Angelino strike, making the return match an intriguing prospect indeed.

Rangers defended impressively in Germany, but, without the injured Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, their attack wasn't nearly as sharp as it can be. They are hoping that Roofe will be fit. The Scottish team's manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst reckons his team are capable of another comeback. Cheered on by the noisy Ibrox crowd in Glasgow, the Gers managed to overturn an identical scoreline against Braga in the quarter-finals. An early goal is exactly what they need.

Rangers captain James Tavernier is counting on the fanatical home crowd to help the team overcome the strongest opponents yet, after they've beaten Portuguese side Braga and Serbian champions Crvena zvezda in the last two knockout rounds.

"There may be some nerves, but we're playing at home in front of our 50,000 fans. It's another really good team being put in front of us. All we can do is give it our best, leave everything on that pitch and have no regrets – if we do that, then we have every fighting chance to get ourselves into a final."

It's another chance to see if traditions and passion can upstage a mean, finely-tuned corporate machine.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Semi-final, second leg

Thursday

22.00: (3.35) Rangers (3.35) RB Leipzig (2.20)

22.00: (2.65) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.75) West Ham (2.65)

***odds are subject to change