Having watched Rangers’ game away at Livingston on Sunday, it’s difficult to make a case for the visitors on Thursday night. While Russell Martin will be relieved to have finally secured his first league win as Rangers manager, it’s unlikely one victory will solve all their problems; indeed, it may just paper over the cracks.

The Gers still look extremely fragile at the back, and they continue to be prone to passive spells, something that was evident during the second half of Sunday's win over Livingston.

While Sturm Graz fell to a 2-0 defeat away at FC Midtjylland, they have been ticking along nicely in the Austrian Bundesliga, where they sit 2nd in the table after winning five of their opening seven league games of the campaign. What's more, Jurgen Samuel’s side have won each of their last three domestic matches, including an eye-catching 2-0 triumph away at RB Salzburg. Thus, the hosts look well placed to avoid defeat against a Rangers side that have failed to win any of their three continental away games this term, losing each of their last two.

Given that both teams failed to pick up any points from their respective assignments on matchday 1, I think we will see a minimum of two match goals at the Merkur Arena on Thursday night. A sizeable 13 of Rangers’ 15 matches across all competitions this season have featured over 1.5 goals, including six of their seven continental contests. That can be attributed to the Gers’ struggles when it comes to keeping clean sheets, failing to do so in 11 of their 15 matches under Russell Martin’s watch.

As for Sturm Graz, five of their opening seven Austrian Bundesliga matches of the season have produced two or more match strikes. On top of that, each of the Blacks’ three matches in Europe this season have broken the over 1.5 goal barrier.

Given the contrasting starts that these two teams have made to their respective seasons, I think the hosts could be capable of covering the proposed over 1.5 goal line on their own.

Otar Kiteishvili could be Sturm Graz’s dangerman on Thursday night. The Georgian midfielder has scored an impressive five goals across his eight appearances in all competitions this season. With that in mind, Kiteishvili looks well worthy of support to register a minimum of one shot on target during this contest.

Typically deployed in the number 10 role, the 29-year-old playmaker often finds himself in advanced areas, not to mention he has also been on penalty kick duty this season. What’s more, Kiteishvili will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of coming up against a Rangers side that looks completely devoid of confidence or belief right now.

The Light Blues have conceded a minimum of 20 shots in each of their previous three European games away from home this season, losing the xG battle in each of those respective contests. The Scottish giants also gave up 18 shots when going down 1-0 at home to Genk last week, so I think there is plenty of scope for the aforementioned Kiteishvili to work Jack Butland at least once on Thursday night.

While the goals may have dried up for Djeidi Gassama in recent weeks, he has continued to hit the target with some regularity. The Rangers winger was responsible for one of his side’s two on-target efforts against Genk at Ibrox last Thursday night. What’s more, the 22-year-old also managed to work the opposition goalkeeper in three of Rangers’ six Champions League qualifiers earlier this season.

It’s also worth noting that Gassama has hit the target at least once in four of his six outings for Rangers in this season’s Scottish Premiership, including two of the Light Blues’ three matches away from Ibrox.

Gassama’s pace and direct running style could be an important weapon for Rangers on the counter-attack in Austria, not to mention he also likes to cut inside and get shots away when the opportunity presents itself. Thus, the Gers ace looks a strong contender to land an on-target effort at the Merkur-Arena on Thursday night.