After enduring successive 4-1 home defeats and having failed to pick up a win so far in the Champions League, Rangers fans could be forgiven for writing off European football this season. However, with Stuttgart due to arrive in Glasgow for their Group F encounter on Tuesday night, Walter Smith will be preparing a plan to ensure Rangers maximise their slim chances of squeaking through.
The group table does not offer much encouragement to Rangers at first glance. Bottom of the group on three points, the Ibrox club trail Stuttgart by a point and Unirea by two, with Sevilla topping the group with 10 points from their four games. Back-to-back wins over Stuttgart and away in Seville could still see Rangers miss out but, such are the myriad complexities of the group, four points could see Smith’s side progress to the knockout stages.
If Rangers can pick up their first three points of the campaign and Sevilla win in Bucharest, the final round of games would see Unirea, Stuttgart and Rangers fighting it out for second place. Walter Smith’s side could pick up a draw in Spain and, if Stuttgart beat Unirea, sneak through to the next round.
It may require an unlikely set of results but the first step for Rangers is to win against the German side on Tuesday. Recent results in the league offer some encouragement, with a straightforward win over Kilmarnock on Saturday boosting confidence ahead of the European test.
Stuttgart’s form offers hope to the Ibrox side. Markus Babbel’s side are currently third from bottom of the Bundesliga, having drawn at home to bottom club Hertha on Saturday and are without a win since September.
Star midfielder Zdravko Kusmanovic has bemoaned his side’s lack of a cutting edge and though the Serbian scored at the weekend, and in his side's Champions League draw with Sevilla, the strikers have been misfiring. The midfielder is Stuttgart's only scorer in the last month.
Rangers would have feared the worst when Madjid Bougherra picked up an injury five weeks ago but have found a gem in teenage centre-half Danny Wilson. The young defender has put in a series of impressive displays deputising for the Algerian and Walter Smith has hinted he may give the youngster his debut in Europe’s premier competition.
Experienced players will have to play their part though, and Kris Boyd, closing in on Henrik Larsson’s SPL scoring record, has issued a plea to be given a rare Champions League start.
In truth, a team effort will be required to pick up a win on Tuesday and to take anything from the more testing trip to Seville. After that, it will be a case of crossing fingers and hoping other results fall into place. If that happens, the humiliation of the Unirea defeat and the poor performances so far will not be forgotten but will certainly be overshadowed by the prospect of more European football after Christmas.
You can follow all the action from Tuesday’s game with our live text commentary on stv.tv/sport from 7.15pm.
