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Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack reckons his journey to the Europa League final is a "crazy" one.

“I would have never thought that I would be sitting here speaking to you about potentially playing in a Europa League final," the 30-year-old says.

“I am proud and grateful to be here and hopefully we can take the trophy home.”

Jack is also grateful to be at this stage after the disappointment of missing out Euro 2020 with Scotland through injury.

“Missing the Euros was a tough moment, no doubt, but I worked hard in the off-season and then it took a bit longer than I thought it was going to originally," he adds. “It was a long journey, a lot of hard work, a lot of long hours, but times like this make it all the sweeter.”

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Less than eight hours until kick-off and the expectation and excitement are growing here and in Seville.

As our reporter, Phil Goodlad, told us this morning, it's the 150th anniversary of Rangers Football Club, it's 50 years since they lifted a trophy and it's been 10 years since the financial implosion that brought Rangers to their knees.

Former Rangers right-back Richard Foster, who is part of Radio Scotland's commentary team, thinks a lot of Rangers fans have the feeling their team will win this time around.

"With the numerical symmetry there, with all that they've been through, the teams they've beat to get to this point, there's a real buzz and I think that makes it more exciting," he says.

"In the last final against Zenit, I think they were huge underdogs.

"But, in this one tonight, I think it's probably 50:50, so that adds to the excitement and expectation levels of the fans."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer in Seville

They've come in from every conceivable direction. The multiple charter flights out of Glasgow are the least of it.

Some have scrambled to Seville via Marrakesh in Morocco, others have gone Glasgow-Gatwick-Bilbao-Seville, Glasgow-Luton-Lisbon-Seville, Edinburgh-Bergamo-Milan-Madrid-Seville.

There are tales of expats coming up from the Southern Hemisphere. The Rainbow Hot Air Balloon company took calls from folk wondering if they could book something to get them to Spain. The owners thought it was a wind-up at first. It wasn't.

There are hundreds if not thousands of stories knocking about and they will become legend if Rangers beat Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night.

They'll be passed down the generations, some real, some exaggerated or invented, but magnificent nonetheless... "my grandad cycled to Seville with his big mate Archie on the handlebars".

There's a fantastic madness to it all, a uniqueness. This is Rangers' second European final in half a century. Who knows when they are going to be in another one and how many of their fans who have made this trip will be alive to see it.

Read more of Tom's scene setter

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Pat Nevin, who was commentating for the BBC as Eintracht beat West Ham in the semi-finals, goes on to give an analysis of what Rangers can expect from their German opponents.

“I would say to Rangers fans, or anyone who hasn’t watched this team much, they are a good side, but they’re not that good," he suggests. "They’re not a team to be absolutely feared.

"They’re very much like Rangers because they didn't expect to get here, they absolutely did not. They're a good team, sensible, intelligent, well-organised team...in the middle of the Bundesliga.

"The fact that they've got all this way, I have to say I'm quite surprised by it. And I have to say, that tells me that Rangers can win this game.

"Now, I’d still put the Germans tiny favourites, about 51 to 49 in their favour, but not more than that. I think Rangers would quite like to be second-favourites in this one though."

Image source, Getty Images

On the BBC's Football Daily podcast, Pat Nevin reckons the Spanish heat in Seville could play its part.

“The players will feel it, they absolutely will feel it," the former Scotland winger says. "And remember, this is a final, it could go to extra time. The exhaustion factor at the end of a season, and then to add on this level of heat, is definitely going to have an effect.

“Then you start to look at whose style suits it better. If you can and try to play a high-press kind of game in this kind of heat at this time of season? Good luck mate, but it ain’t going to work!

“When I've watched Frankfurt, and even when I was over there watching them against West Ham in the semi-final, they’re a breaking side. They’re happy to suck up a lot of pressure and then play on the break. And they are really talented and the real quality is in that front line. They’re speedy, they’re intelligent and they might not get many opportunities but they use them well. So, their system actually fits it.

"But what system will Rangers play? That’s what we don't really know yet. They sometimes play five at the back in this competition and, if they play their own way, which is a robust style of football, it is tiring. I suspect they’re going to have to adapt their game a little bit."

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It's no secret who Scotland forward Erin Cuthbert, fresh from her stunning strike in Chelsea's Women's FA Cup final win over Manchester City, is backing to win tonight.

Christopher Martin, a journalist with German TV and online channel Sport One, tells our reporter Phil Goodlad that - perhaps unlike in Glasgow - all of Frankfurt is behind Eintracht's bid to win a first European trophy in 42 years.

"They have to play with courage and they have the will to win this cup," he says. "All Frankfurt stands behind the team and I'm really looking forward to how the match will end in Seville.

"It's really a 50-50 game. Let's see who will be better in the match, who will make the first goal and who will win the cup."

He said if Frankfurt win the cup "it would be terrific, it would be a new dimension, it would be historic. And so it is a really, really important match for Frankfurt".

Image source, Getty Images

Of course, there are even more omens that suggest the stars are aligning for a Rangers victory.

The club has been celebrating 150 years since they were established - and it's 50 years since they lifted their one and only European trophy.

Since that 1972 3-2 win over Dynamo Moscow to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup, Rangers have lost in two more finals, so will it be third time lucky in their anniversary year?

You can relive memories of that win in Barcelona with Rangers legends Willie Johnston, Colin Stein and Peter McCloy here.

Thumbs up if you think they will win in Seville, thumbs down for no.

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You can read more about that famous Real Madrid victory, after Rangers had themselves been thumped 12-4 on aggregate by Eintracht in the semi-finals, here.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

Karen from Barrhead Travel, which has two charters going out to Seville this morning, tells our reporter Aileen Clark the demand has been huge since Rangers entered the final.

"There's really high demand post-pandemic and an even bigger appetite to travel than before," she says. "And we've just seen such a surge, whether that's on charters, but there's also been demand for package holidays as well, with people going into the surrounding areas to support their team.

"I think it's been amazing, I think its been fantastic, not just for the customers who have been really excited to get to Seville but also our staff."

Image source, BARRHEAD TRAVEL

BBC Scotland will continue to bring you extensive coverage from Seville here on the live page.

Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live will have all the latest as excitement builds, Reporting Scotland will come from the searing heat of Seville and John Beattie is already out and about in the Spanish city before Drivetime this afternoon.

Drivetime with John Beattie
BBC Radio Scotland

It turns out Sevilla Football Club and their stadium, which hosts tonight’s Europa League final, were actually founded by Scots who were here trading in Seville oranges for the marmalade industry.

The club historian, Javier Terenti Sanchez, told John Beattie on Drivetime yesterday how it all began.

“The club was started in 1890, when some men, half British and mainly Scots and Seville men were celebrating Burns Night in Seville. They were drinking beer and decided to form the Seville club.

Scott Mullen
BBC Scotland in Seville

The biggest day in the football lives of many Rangers fans is finally here.

Yesterday, there was an excitement around this place. There are a small handful of fan zones around the stadium that weren't anything near to capacity, but that'll all change now. Out of every Rangers fan I spoke to yesterday, not one had a ticket. To be fair, neither did any Frankfurt fan.

Yesterday's arrivals into Seville was a small trickle. The city's Santa Justa station, around a 15-minute walk to the ground, is where the plug will get pulled out today, with hundreds of trains from all across Spain pouring Rangers supporters into the place.

Image source, Scott Mullen

Heart of Midlothian midfielder Andy Halliday admits he finds himself in a strange situation - supporting boyhood club Rangers tonight in Seville then going gung-ho to beat them in Saturday's Scottish Cup final.

A former Rangers player himself, he insists: "If it was my gran I was playing against on Saturday for the Scottish Cup, she might get a kick or two."

Halliday doesn't expect any of his family to be backing him in the Hearts end at Hampden but says: "To bring the Scottish Cup to the club for the first time in a decade would be amazing and, if that means a couple of family members fall out with me, so be it."

Read more here.

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Our reporter in Seville, Scott Mullen, has been exploring Rangers' rising European ratings and the impact manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst's tactics have had on their run to the Europa League final.

"Van Bronckhorst has shown he is capable of pulling a tactical rabbit out of the hat. Has he got one left?" he asks.

Read more here.

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Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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The exodus really is under way, with a sea of blue and white heading for Seville before tonight's Europa League final.

Sixteen charter flights are flying from Glasgow airport today, carrying more than 2,000 fans. Some supporters left at the crack of dawn, looking forward to their club's first European final in 14 years.

Reporter Aileen Clark spoke to some very excited fans. Emma from Kilmarnock said she was "raring to go".

Sarah from Coatbridge added: "It's so exciting, it's such a big occasion. We're really looking forward to it".

Wednesday's newspapers have, of course, been dominated by the build-up to tonight's game.

Former Rangers midfielder Ronald de Boer says Giovanni van Bronckhorst has already surpassed predecessor Steven Gerrard's achievements by taking the club to the brink of the club's first European prize in 50 years.

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner believes Rangers are on a par with Barcelona and are favourites for the final.

You can read more here.

Image source, BBC Sport

What about that all-important team news? Well, Rangers' bid to lift the Europa League trophy has been given a huge boost with the return of striker Kemar Roofe.

The 29-year-old has not played since injuring a knee in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic on 17 April.

But manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst may well call upon the man with 17 goals this term for the showpiece against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on Wednesday night.

"Kemar is available," he said after the Jamaica forward returned to training on Monday. "He had individual training before that and he will be training later."

Image source, PA Media

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Tens of thousands of Rangers fans are in Seville before one of the biggest matches in the club's history.

Police expect about 100,000 Rangers supporters to travel to the Spanish city and they will be joined by 50,000 from German opponents Frankfurt.

The vast majority do not have tickets for the game at the 42,700-capacity Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Only 9,500 tickets were originally sold to Rangers fans although more are believed to have been made available in recent days.

Ticketless Rangers fans can watch the match at the 57,000-capacity Estadio La Cartuja - where Celtic lost the 2003 Uefa Cup final to Porto.

• Read more here
• 'Everest awaits for miraculous Rangers in Seville'
• 'Living dad's dream to see Rangers in a final again

Our chief sports writer Tom English has been waxing lyrical about how Rangers have lifted themselves from financial meltdown and time in Scotland's lowest league to win the Premiership and now reach a European final.

"Rangers are well-drilled, completely focused and one game from footballing heaven. This is the stuff of fantasy, but it couldn't be more real. They've almost climbed Everest. One last push and they'll be there."

Read more here.