Marco Negri: Rangers have been ‘forced’ to try ‘different approach’ v Napoli
Napoli strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win at Ibrox during the reverse tie, so Marco Negri expects Rangers to switch things up in Naples.
Rangers’ Champions League dreams are over after four successive defeats in the tournament this season. However, a spot in the Europa League is still up for grabs.
If Gers are to drop down into the Europa League, they’ll need points against both Napoli and Ajax in their remaining two games.
After struggling to cope with the Italian outfit at Ibrox, Negri expects his former side to sit back and defend in Naples.
“I expect a different approach from Rangers than the one they took when Napoli played them at Ibrox,” Negri told the Daily Record, as quoted by Glasgow Live.
“I don’t think Rangers will be anything like as aggressive as they were in the home leg.
I think they will sit back and accept that Napoli will have wave after wave of attacks. We already saw in Glasgow that Napoli ended up dominating.
“It is because of their superior technical ability. Luciano Spalletti will have to be patient because I don’t see Rangers attacking at all.
“I think they will be forced to sit back and hope to get through it.”
Stuck between a rock and a hard place
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has to make a really tough decision about how to set his side up on Wednesday night.
With an injury-plagued defence low on confidence, the Dutchman likely won’t trust his backline to keep out an onslaught of Napoli attacks if he instructs his side to sit deep and counter.
But on the other hand, Rangers tried being aggressive and going toe-to-toe with Napoli in the reverse fixture – a decision that ended in a 3-0 loss.
Whatever Van Bronckhorst chooses to do it’s bound to be an incredibly tough match for Rangers. Napoli boast a 100% record in the Champions League this season and have scored 17 goals in four games.
But with points a necessity if Rangers are to keep their European hopes alive, Van Bronckhorst cannot afford for his side to crumble and collapse as they did in the second half against Liverpool.
It’s time for the Dutchman to prove himself tactically on the biggest stage of them all.
In other Rangers news, a club official partner makes a Giovanni van Bronckhorst sack admission