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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Matt Bryan

Rangers pre-season friendlies in full as Steven Gerrard's men face might of Arsenal in title defence preparations

As players continue to return home from international football, clubs have already begun their preparations for the new season ahead.

Rangers will hope to feature some new faces when they kick-off their pre-season friendlies on Monday night close to home.

The champions currently have four fixtures lined up before they begin the defence of their title at home to Livingston on July 31.

And here we will take a look at the teams Steven Gerrard's men will face over the coming weeks before the new campaign and a crack at the Champions League that could promise riches untold for the Ibrox club.

Partick Thistle (away)

First up for the Ibrox side is Partick Thistle on Monday, June 5.

A short trip across the city will see Rangers take to the field for the first time in nearly two months when they last played Aberdeen on May 15.

The Light Blues will hope to pick up where they left off in last season's final fixture where they won 4-0 at Ibrox.

However, Ian McCall's men will be looking to hold their own against a side from the top tier.

The game kicks off at 7pm at Firhill.

Tranmere Rovers (away)

Five days later will see another away fixture for Rangers as they head south to play Tranmere Rovers.

The English League Two outfit will take on Gerrard's side as the first game of their pre-season schedule next Saturday.

It will be familiar territory for the Ibrox boss when he takes his team to Merseyside.

The match is scheduled for a 12pm kick-off at Prenton Park on July 10.

Arsenal (home)

(Getty Images)

The pick of the bunch in Rangers' preparations for the new season has to be their friendly with Arsenal.

The glamour tie will see a return to Ibrox for former Rangers star Mikel Arteta, now manager of The Gunners.

It won't be the first time the north London club come against Scottish opponents that week. Their clash with Rangers will follow days after their opening pre-season match with Hibernian, which takes place days before at Easter Road.

Gerrard will be looking to prove his side are up to the task against the Premier League giants in the clash on July 17.

Rangers' first home friendly kicks off at 2pm on the day.

Blackpool (away)

The Gers' final pre-season fixtures sees another trip to England, this time to face Blackpool.

That will allow 10 days rest until the league campaign begins at the end of the month.

By this point, Gerrard will have had a good look at new signings such as Fashion Sakala and Nnamdi Ofoborh and see how his side is shaping up before the competitive action begins.

But the tie at Bloomfield Road could be a challenging prospect with the newly-promoted Championship side already strengthening their squad this summer.

The final friendly this pre-season for Rangers kicks off at 7pm on July 21.

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