On Sky
Despite Rangers poor form and off field troubles, they are still in with a chance of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League and three points here could clinch their place.
FC Porto will be a tough nut to crack though especially as they will be desperate to find some form in this competition as so far they have disappointed with defeats by Rangers in the first game and Artmedia although they did manage to beat group favourites Inter.
Rangers may live to regret not winning at least one of the double header games versus Artmedia but still have their fate in their own hands and three points here will guarantee qualification.
Alex McLeish knows this could be his last chance to save his Rangers career, some people are saying that he could still walk regardless of the outcome.
With McLeish under pressure to get a result and FC Porto also desperate for the three points, it promises to be a fascinating game.
Vital Quotes:
Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson: ‘This is the lowest time of my football career. I have never felt more down than this.
‘I broke my kneecap and had seven months out when I was at Blackburn, but this feels worse.
‘We are stuck in a horrible rut and it is getting deeper and deeper. But the only people who can drag Rangers out of this are the players.’
FC Porto manager, Co Adriaanse: ‘We can bring confidence into the Rangers game.
‘We have to win the game against Rangers, who are a strong opponent, but I believe we can still improve further.’
FC Porto Team News:
No major injury worries for Porto who thumped Academica 5-1 in their last game giving them good form going into this match.
Player to watch: Lucho Gonzalez
Scored two goals in the win against Academica.
Rangers Team News:
The last thing Rangers needed going into this game was losing key player Dado Prso and that is exactly what’s happened. Prso went off with a hamstring injury in the Old Firm game on Saturday and he will miss the game.
So that means they have a bit of a striker crisis as McLeish is already without Nacho Novo and Federico Nieto. That leaves Rangers with only Francis Jeffers, Steven Thompson and Ross McCormack as their only fit strikers.
Meanwhile Rangers are still without long term injury Gavin Rae and defenders Olivier Bernard and Julien Rodriguez so boss Alex McLeish has called up left-back Steven Smith from the reserves.
Thomas Buffel is still not fit to make the trip to Porto. The only other selection headache for McLeish is who to play in goals as Stefan Klos and Ronald Waterreus have both made mistakes in recent weeks.
Player to watch: Barry Ferguson
Rangers will be relying on their captain to take a hold of the game in midfield and control the game.
Match Facts & Stats
If Rangers and Inter both win, Rangers will join Inter in the last 16 of this season’s Champions League.
The last game between the two clubs was at Ibrox in September this year which Rangers won 3-2, it was the first game of this group stage and got Rangers off to a flyer.
The only time the two sides met previous to this year was in the 1983/84 Cup Winners Cup campaign. Rangers won 2-1 in the first leg of the second round tie at Ibrox but lost 1-0 in the return leg and went out in aggregate.
Rangers have played Portugese opposition on three other occasions in European competition. The first coming in the 1971/72 season when we beat Sporting Lisbon on away goals after drawing 6-6 on aggregate. Rangers went on to win the Cup Winners Cup that season.
The next occasion was in the 1986/87 season when we beat Boavista in the UEFA Cup 3-1 on aggregate. The goals coming from McPherson, McCoist and Ferguson.
The most recent tie came only last season when Rangers beat Maritimo on penalties after drawing 1-1 on aggregate to make the UEFA Cup group stages.
FC Porto have player Scottish clubs on another five occasions including their previous Scottish opponents Celtic who they beat in the UEFA Cup Final of 2002/2003 in Seville.
Match Prediction:
I’m sorry but I’m not tempting fate with a score prediction for this match but I do predict it will be a cracking game.
Next Fixtures:
Matchday 6, Tue 6 Dec: Artmedia v Porto, Rangers v Inter