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Steven Gerrard issues rallying cry to Rangers ahead of "pivotal" Benfica clash

:Headline: Steven Gerrard issues rallying cry to Rangers ahead of 'pivotal' Benfica clash:
Steven Gerrard's men are looking to book their place in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Sports Mole

Steven Gerrard has urged his Rangers team to make Thursday's Europa League clash with Benfica "pivotal".

Rangers will qualify for the last 32 with two games to spare if they win and Lech Poznan fail to beat Standard Liege in Belgium.

The Light Blues showed they had the beating of the Portuguese team when they went 3-1 ahead in Lisbon before conceding two late goals.

And Gerrard has encouraged his in-form team to make home advantage count at Ibrox.

"We want Thursday to be pivotal," he said. "We want it to be a big night.

"It's a shame we haven't got the crowd here to help us like they have before so we have to motivate ourselves, come out and try and get qualification done as quickly as possible.

"With three games to go we have given ourselves a fantastic platform, but we are playing against a really good team with top players.

"But we are going to go foot to the floor on Thursday and give it everything we can to try and get the job done, because maybe it can help us further down the line domestically.

"If it does happen, it will certainly help us from a domestic point of view in terms of looking after people. But we certainly want to get it done as quickly as possible."

Gerrard was able to give players a rest on Sunday after completing a 4-0 rout of Aberdeen inside 53 minutes, although the chances continued to flow.

"That's the pleasing thing for me, that the level and the understanding stays really high," he said.

"You see the substitutes we brought on against Aberdeen and how eager they were to score.

"You can see JD's (Jermain Defoe) hunger and movement, Ianis (Hagi) had a chance, Cedric (Itten) had a couple of a chances.

"I still had (Brandon) Barker there and could have used him because he scored in the last game. We have certainly got the options and I am in a fantastic place at the moment in that respect.

"But the key is – can we keep them healthy and keep the group in a good place for the rest of the season? If we do, we'll continue to give teams a lot of problems."

One player who missed out against Aberdeen was South Africa midfielder Bongani Zungu.

"He has got a knock on his knee that we are assessing and checking out at the moment," Gerrard said.

"We don't think it is big so you could see him on Thursday hopefully.

"But don't be surprised if he takes a little bit longer. But it is not a big problem, it is only days rather than weeks or months."

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Scottish Premiership Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1RangersRangers1614204534244
2Celtic1494135142131
3Hibernian168532416829
4Aberdeen158432117428
5Motherwell166372121021
6Dundee UnitedDundee Utd165561220-820
7Kilmarnock165291820-217
8St Johnstone164571420-617
9Livingston164391624-815
10Hamilton AcademicalHamilton1642101936-1714
11Ross County163491030-2013
12St Mirren15339822-1412
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Championship Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bournemouth1787229161331
2Norwich CityNorwich169432115631
3Swansea CitySwansea178631910930
4Reading169342619730
5Stoke CityStoke178452420428
6Brentford167632415927
7Watford167632012827
8Bristol City168351916327
9Cardiff CityCardiff177552314926
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn1674531191225
11Middlesbrough156631610624
12Huddersfield TownHuddersfield177372222024
13Luton TownLuton176561420-623
14Millwall174941414021
15Preston North EndPreston166282225-320
16Birmingham CityBirmingham164751214-219
17Barnsley165471721-419
18Queens Park RangersQPR174671825-718
19Coventry CityCoventry174671826-818
20Rotherham UnitedRotherham1734101525-1013
21Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest16349919-1013
22Wycombe WanderersWycombe16259923-1411
23Derby CountyDerby16259822-1411
24Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds17368917-89
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