Rangers vs Fenerbahce preview: Know when to hold em

Afternoon everyone, Rangers take on Fenerbahce for the second leg of our Europa League round of 16 tie. The Gers lead 3-1 after a very impressive win in Turkey 7 days ago.

The tie isn't over by any means, if the away goals rule was still in effect I'd go as far as to say our lead would be insurmountable. But no away goals for us, so we go into the second leg with a challenge as to how we will approach the game.

On paper, a 2 goal lead should fill the team with confidence and security. In practice, it can affect a teams approach to the game, creating the urge to sit in and defend what you have, rather than going for the kill with another goal. This psychological effect will be lessened by the Ibrox atmosphere. It's a European home game so it will be absolutely bouncing, they will drive the team on at every opportunity.

If you're the opposition, you'll be looking to get an early goal and stifle the home support. How do you deal with that if you're the managerial team? It's not an easy one, go for an intense early approach and you risk the game turning a bit chaotic, which the opposition would prefer. Try and control the game and you potentially hand the initiative to Fenerbahce.

I wouldn't be against seeing the same system as last week, with more emphasis on getting the wingbacks higher up the pitch. If Sterling is fit enough to last 60 mins I'd prefer him starting over Ridvan on the right. His ability to defend 1 on 1 against a variety of threats is something we should utilise on nights like tonight. I mentioned it in my post match piece, but the way he locked down Allan Saint-Maximin was really really impressive.

In fact he locked him down so badly that the Frenchman has been left out the squad tonight. It's not clear why, but from some poorly translated Turkish tweets it seems like the Fenerbahce fans weren't pleased. I like to think he just decided he didn't want to get pummelled into oblivion by Sterling and didn't turn up for his flight. (As I was editing this, Mourinho popped up to say that he was actually "overweight")

In all seriousness it's great that one of the jokers in the pack has been removed from the equation tonight. He's exactly the sort of player who could produce an incredible moment out of nothing to turn the tie, having done nothing special all game.

The managers press conference was fairly standard fare. He mentioned the preparation for the game, the tie not being over and also dropped cryptic comment on hoping certain players can pass a late fitness test. Not sure who, but I'd imagine Balogun would be one of those, given his limited minutes and forced introduction last game.

Barry also mentioned the "flexibility" required to succeed in European fixtures. That's not a surprise given the tactical flexibility some of the Walter Smith sides he played in possessed. In recent years, both Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Steven Gerrard have coached Rangers teams that have had success in Europe by being able to change shape and approach multiple times per game.

I was really impressed by the approach in Turkey and the clear game plan on show. If we have as clear a game plan tonight, and something in the back pocket if things aren't going our way. I could see us triumphing tonight without much of an issue.

In news that will shock absolutely no one, Jose Mourinho has had plenty to say ahead of tonight's game. The Portuguese seems to spend most of his time trying to drop his next viral soundbite/quote. He insists that Rangers aren't a "better team" than Fenerbahce and that our victory came through his own team's mistakes rather than any of our own work.

The point about the mistakes really made me chuckle, for the last 10 years his teams have always been near the top for individual defensive errors leading to goals. At some point you surely need to think it's your coaching/tactics putting too much pressure on the players? I'm sure he will continue to blame the players despite him being the only common denominator.

The whole interview reads as very thinly-veiled mind games. It's what Jose has done throughout his career and it seems very old hat now. Barry shrugged off his post match comments from the first leg, and I expect the Rangers manager to do the same here. The first leg is over, we won't be worrying about who played better or worse, we just need to focus on the 90 minutes tonight.

Outside of the game tonight, the main news in recent days has been around the takeover. There were reports in the Rangers Review that the deal has progressed and will be near completion by the end of May. Sounds like positive news to me, but best to wait and see before we start putting bets on for the Quadruple in two years time.

Aside from that, hopefully everyone going to the game tonight stays safe and enjoys themselves.