Can Rangers reign in Spain?
The Glasgow side were the better team at Ibrox
These are the games that being in the Champions League is all about. The Mestalla remains one of the most iconic stadiums in European football, even if fans that suffer from vertigo may not entirely agree with that sentiment.
Rangers won’t have the time to enjoy the sights of the Mestalla but the Ibrox team will have more important matters on their mind when the game kicks off on Tuesday night.
Rangers have a couple of injuries to contend with after losing Maurice Edu and Vladimir Weiss during the 1-1 draw with Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday. Edu had fired Rangers into lead early on and many think the Ibrox side missed the American’s workrate in the second half.
The dropped points against Caley was the first slip-up in the league this season but Rangers are still to taste defeat in all competitions this season and will be determined to maintain that run in the Mestalla. If they do, Rangers will consider themselves in with a shout of grabbing the second spot in the group and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Steven Whittaker and Steven Naismith are set to be recalled to the starting line-up as Rangers will likely revert to the 5-4-1 system that has served them so well in Europe so far. Grabbing a draw at Old Trafford means that Rangers should have no fear in heading to face Valencia, who haven’t been firing on all cylinders this season.
The Spanish will be able to pass and move well but when they get in front of the Rangers backline, they need to prove they have the intelligence to break down the Rangers backline. It took an own goal for Valencia to grab a goal at Ibrox and it wasn’t as if they had too many chances on the night.
In fact, Rangers will definitely consider that game at ibrox as the one that got away but at this moment in time, Walter Smith will definitely settle for a point in Spain.
What are your predictions for the big Champions League game?
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