Rangers face Belgian side Standard Liege tonight in the first of six Europa League group stage matches as they look to emulate the achievement of last year by getting to the knock out stages of the competition.
It won’t be as straight forward as many fans think though and despite the home side being hit hard by coronavirus, Steven Gerrard is well aware of the task at hand, facing a club unbeaten at home in European competition since 2014 having entertained clubs like Ajax and Sevilla along the way.
Speaking yesterday afternoon, and reported on the club’s official twitter feed as part of the pre-match build up, the Gers gaffer let it be known that his side are fully aware of the task in hand and that there is no such thing as an easy game in the Europa League:
“Standard Liege have a really good home record and we understand this will be a tough night but we accept the challenge and we are looking forward to it. It should be a fascinating game of football.
“At this level, you can’t carry anyone in or out of possession, through our experiences the last few seasons we know that and only our best will be good enough. To the player’s credit, they have more often than not delivered in Europe.”
Gerrard has his own impressive record on the continent having lost just once at home since he took the job in 2018, a 3-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen hardly a shameful result, he has also overseen an improvement in away results having gone unbeaten against Porto, Feyenoord, Braga, Midtjylland and Legia Warsaw all last season.
What do you expect from Rangers v Liege?
A win
A draw
It will be good for Rangers to have such a difficult and high profile game so soon after the Old Firm victory and despite not being as glamorous a name as some of the previous opponents, Liege will certainly provide a stiffer test than the one they faced at Parkhead.