Rangers will be relieved to take a vacation from the Scottish Premiership following their weekend defeat to Motherwell.
Rangers suffered their third consecutive loss at Ibrox in all competitions on Saturday, adding another nail to their miserable domestic season and giving Barry Ferguson his first taste of defeat in charge.
However, attention can now be returned completely to the Europa League, with the knockout stages beginning with a trip to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce on Thursday (6 March).
Opta predicts Rangers’ outcome versus Fenerbahce.
Rangers fans have been looking forward to this match for a while, with no domestic route to success this season and some of the team’s best form showed in the Europa League league stage.
The Gers won four of their eight games, including a 4-1 away win in Nice and a 4-0 home defeat of FCSB, to secure a spot in the league’s top eight, setting up a meeting with Fenerbahce, with the second leg taking place at Ibrox on March 13.
Based on its statistical model, the Opta supercomputer predicted the outcome of the first leg in Turkey, giving the home team a 55.4% chance of winning.
Rangers are listed as outsiders, with a 21.6% chance of winning in Istanbul and a 23% likelihood of a draw, making the Ibrox leg the decider.
Ferguson’s team has no league games between the two legs, making the entire tie the only focus before the Old Firm visit to Celtic Park on March 16, when some Rangers fans will be permitted inside the stadium in a huge breakthrough.
Rangers feel confident in Europe.
With all due respect, Ferguson would concede that when he was managing in the Scottish lower leagues in recent years, while Mourinho was continuing to win what is now 21 major management titles, he did not expect the two to clash so soon.
But that’s how things have turned out, and the new Rangers manager will be confident that he and his team can win, especially now that they know their fate.
| Jose Mourinho – major club honours as manager | Number of trophies |
| Porto | 5 |
| Chelsea | 7 |
| Inter Milan | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 2 |
| Manchester United | 2 |
| Roma | 1 |
| TOTAL | 21 |
The European stage is one arena where the Light Blues may improve their performance. Recent exploits in this tournament, namely two finals since the turn of the century, look to have benefited the club as a whole.
For all the nightmares Philippe Clement endured during a spell that finally ended just over a week ago, he can take comfort in the fact that he has delivered some memorable European nights this season.
Rangers may not be fond of data and analytics, but their football appetite is a different beast in Europe. Mourinho hasn’t met Barry Ferguson yet.
