Rangers progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup in fairly routined fashion as they secured a comfortable 4-1 victory away to Dumbarton.
The Gers will hope to go all the way in this year’s tournament as they bid to secure a 35th Scottish Cup title and a first since 2022.
Philippe Clement’s men have already tasted success in the League Cup this term and will hope to continue their upwards trajectory. Standing in their way in the next stage of the tournament is a much unfancied Ayr United team who will be relishing the opportunity to try and prove doubters wrong in front of the Ibrox faithful.
As it stands Ayr United are battling to survive in the Scottish Championship - which is a huge drop off from the form that they produced last season when they missed out on promotion through the play-offs.
The upcoming cup match marks the first meeting between the two teams since a League Cup tie back in September 2018. On that occasion Steven Gerrard’s men stormed to a 4-0 victory with Nikola Katic, Glenn Middleton and Alfredo Morelos grabbing the goals.
Here we take a look back at the starting XI that played that day at Ibrox and the path that their careers have gone on since.
1. GK: Wes Foderingham
Ended his five year stay at Rangers in 2020. Currently the first choice goalkeeeper for Premier League strugglers Sheffield United. | SNS Group
2. RB: Jon Flanagan
Jon Flanagan left Rangers in 2020. Retired from football in 2022 due to injuries. | SNS Group
3. CB: Nikola Katić
Opened the scoring against Ayr. Now playing for FC Zurich in Switzerland. | SNS Group
4. CB: Joe Worrall
Enjoyed a successful loan spell at Rangers. Is now a key member of Nottingham Forest's team in the Premier League. | SNS Group