James Tavernier celebrates scoring against Borussia Dortmund at Ibrox
Rangers have already beaten Bundesliga opposition this season, scoring six goals over two legs against Borussia Dortmund
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Leipzig Date: Thursday, 28 April Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Coverage: Listen on Sportsound & follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

The one where Harry was chained up and put in the carcass of a beached whale for 15 minutes and then emerged smiling was a crowd pleaser.

Apparently, half his audience collapsed with shock when they saw him emerge from the mammal's belly, a bit like how half the audience collapsed with shock when Rangers stuck four on Dortmund in their own place in the first knockout round of the Europa League.

If you had told Rangers back in September that they would be playing in the semi-finals of the Europa League before the season started, they would have looked bewildered.

This was a Rangers team that was dumped from the European competition by Malmo and had lost their first two games in the European competition without scoring a goal.

They were drawn with Motherwell and lost to Dundee United. A European final? Had you said that back then, you would have been laughed out of town. Had you floated it on social media, it would have sparked a lot of discussion. The reaction would have been brutal.

They are here. They have already played 16 games in European competition this season and games 17 and 18 will determine whether they make the final.

After the first two rounds, no one expected them to make it out of the group stage, even though they scored six times against a defence that had a World Cup.

Two years ago, they reached the semifinals of the European Championship and will face off in Germany on Thursday. If you include the subs they used, the starting line-up that put out Atalanta took almost 170m to assemble. Rangers were put together for washers.

Ibrox side find extra gear in Europe

The Germans are hot favorites, but Rangers couldn't care less. They were underdogs against the last Bundesliga side they were supposed to beat.

The latest prediction from German legend Lothar Matthaus is a good sign. After dismissing Rangers as a third-rate team before the game, the great man predicted that Leipzig would win. Nice one, Lothar.

There is still a place for this kind of thing, even though Giovanni van Bronckhorst doesn't seem like an old school manager who sticks stuff up on a wall to motivate his players. The team hotel should have the words "third-rate" plastered on it. Rangers players could use it as meat and drink as they try to overcome the odds again.

They have found an extra gear in European and domestic competition. The extra-time win took on character. It was impressive to follow it up a few days later with another victory against Celtic.

The second half at Fir Park on Saturday could have been nervy for them, but they swatted Motherwell aside in another convincing performance.

The ball game is going to be different on Thursday. Rangers are being used as a laboratory experiment by the footballing gods because of their injury problems. How much punishment can they take?

Who leads the depleted Rangers attack?

Kemar Roofe celebrates his extra-time winner against Braga in the last round
Kemar Roofe, who scored the extra-time winner against Braga in the quarter-final, has been added to Rangers' list of injured stars

Morelos has scored in five European games this season. Kemar Roofe is also out. The player who was signed on loan for the biggest games will not play.

Ramsey has played four minutes against Dortmund and 80 against Braga. Rangers brought the Ramsey thing on themselves by recruiting a star with a terrible injury profile, but they have been unlucky.

It's difficult to lose your main strikers at the most critical time of the season. Losing both of your strikers and a player brought in as a game-changer at the same time is very unfortunate.

They are looking for a man to play through the middle. Fashion Sakala's direct running turned the game at the weekend, but he is raw and Motherwell are to Leipzig.

Ryan Jack and John Lundstram are written in stone. What is he going to do there?

Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo, and Scott Arfield played behind Morelos in the pivotal game of the European season, the 4-2 away at Dortmund. Kent needs to improve his finishing, but he is a shoo-in. Arfield is a wonderfully influential player and Aribo has had a strong season.

Is Sakala going to lead the line? Why not? His pace could cause problems. He also has a naivete about him. He has confidence right now.

Even if he is a rival to Steve Clarke in the world championship, Van Bronckhorst must be very focused because he is missing key men. It's better to face a selection dilemma than to have no choice. Everyone at the club must be in awe of this run.

They didn't think that this day would come after their exit from the European competition, after their early defeats in the European competition, and after the draw pitched them against the Germans. The closer you get to the summit, the harder it is.

They can see it, but can they get to it? These are heady European days for Rangers, but they need to come back from Leipzig with hope in order to turn a good story into a great one. If they do, how will Ibrox rock?

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