Rangers vs Middlesbrough LIVE score and goal updates from Ibrox friendly ahead of Champions League crunch

Rangers take on Middlesbrough this afternoon as they prepare for that crucial UEFA Champions League second-leg trip to face Panathinaikos in the white-hot Athens atmosphere.

With a sizeable travelling support expected to make the trip north for this pre-season friendly hoping to make their own noise, Rob Edwards' team will provide useful opposition as they step up their prep ahead of the start of the EFL Championship campaign.

For Russell Martin, this represents a chance to get some minutes in the legs of some of his squad, while also allowing others to compete for a spot in Wednesday night's team in the Greek capital.

There will be no Rangers reunion this afternoon with former centre-half George Edmundson after 'the Fridge' was ruled out with a calf injury, as he and Boro star man Finn Azaz face a race against time to be fit for the Championship curtain raiser in a few weeks' time.

It's a last chance for Martin to get a look at his team ahead of the all-important Euro tie on Wednesday.

You can follow all the action with us LIVE right here.

Former Scotland captain Graeme Souness is the only real other contender to rival Gazza for the biggest name to play for both sides on show this afternoon, with the tough-tackling supremo enjoying a six-year stint at Middlesbrough’s old home of Ayresome Park - having signed on from Tottenham - before going on to enjoy his stellar spells with Liverpool and Sampdoria before his stunning south side arrival in 1986 that sparked an Ibrox revolution.

Souness would win the Boro Player of the Year award in 1974 after helping the club win promotion to the English top flight as Jack Charlton's side won the old second division title before his move to Anfield in 1978.

As Rangers’ player-manager