‘I do not see this materialising’ – Nicholas predicts Rangers scoreline v Bayer Leverkusen
Charlie Nicholas does not believe that Rangers will be able to overcome their 3-1 deficit to get past Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.
The Gers face the Bundesliga outfit to decide a tie that began with a first leg clash at Ibrox back in March.
That meeting was the final game played in Scotland before sporting events were suspended in an attempt to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Now, however, after months of waiting, Steven Gerrard’s men will finally get their chance to enact an unlikely comeback when they travel to Germany in midweek.
But Nicholas does not fancy their chances, despite being impressed with the Gers of late.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Leverkusen have had a few weeks off after the end of the Bundesliga season, while Rangers are now back into it, winning in France during pre-season and earning a great result at Aberdeen on Saturday when they looked OK.
“Rangers have surprised me a lot in this competition, especially away from home, but Leverkusen were great in Glasgow.
“Steven Gerrard wants to play a 4-3-3, but he will play five at the back for this, and he will try and hang in to see if they can nick the first goal. I do not see this materialising.
“Rangers are improving under Gerrard, but with the Scottish Premiership starting, it is more important than the Europa League stands right now. Gerrard will make sure his side do not get embarrassed and walk away with their heads held high.”
Nicholas predicts a 2-1 win for Leverkusen.
Can Rangers overturn this deficit?
It’s certainly not out of the question, but it will be a huge, huge ask.
For starters, they must score three to match Leverkusen’s own away goals tally.
If the German side also manage to find the back of the net, not even three strikes will be enough to see the Gers through without the need for extra time, and maybe even penalties.
Even acknowledging that uphill battle, Rangers would also have to massively up their game from the first leg to achieve their goal.
According to Wyscout, Leverkusen had 66.62% possession at Ibrox, as well as completing 341 more passes, and creating an xG that was 1.1 higher than ours.
Of course, knockout football can throw up all sorts of unexpected dramas, but it’s going to take something special for Rangers to get themselves out of this one.
In other Rangers news, Darren Fletcher has backed this Gers talent for big season in 20/21 after impressive showing v Aberdeen