Rotten Rangers stats say they’re doomed to fail v Viktoria Plzen in Champions League
Rangers will face an uphill battle to overcome Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League qualifiers.
The Gers secured a 1-1 draw against Panathanaikos on Wednesday (30 July) to proceed as 3-1 winners on aggregate through to the third round of qualifying in the Champions League.
They will now face Czech side Viktoria Plzen for the first time in their history as Russell Martin aims to bring the Scottish giants back into the group stages of Europe’s elite competition.
However, Martin will have to battle history, as history tells a grim tale of the Rangers’ previous forays against Czech opposition.
Czech teams have perfect record against Rangers in knockouts
Since Rangers first competed in European competition in the 1956–57 European Cup, they have faced four clubs from Czechia (formerly known as Czechoslovakia), playing 12 fixtures in all.
Their first, dating back to 1981, was against Dukla Prague in the then-named European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Light Blues lost the first leg 3-0 away at the Stadion Juliska, meaning that their follow-up 2-1 home victory that followed was not enough to avoid being eliminated.
Over the following years, the results followed the same trend as they were eliminated by Sparta Prague, Viktoria Zivkov, and Slavia Prague.
| Year | Club | Home Result | Away Result |
| 2021 | Slavia Prague | 0-2 | 1-1 |
| 2002 | Viktoria Zivkov | 3-1 | 0-2 |
| 1991 | Sparta Prague | 2-1 | 0-1 |
| 1981 | Dukla Prague | 2-1 | 0-3 |
Therefore, Rangers are yet to progress past a Czech side in European knockouts, twice going out to the away goal rule, which was scrapped four years ago.
Silver lining for Rangers
One upside for Rangers is that the last four fixtures against Czech opposition have all come against Slavia Prague in the group stages of the Europa League, in which the Govan side have fared much better.
The Glasgow-based club recorded one loss and one draw away at the Fortuna Arena, but have beaten the Chance Liga Champions both times at the Ibrox in 2021 and 2023.
Captain James Tavernier played in both of those victories, and Martin will call upon his experience and leadership to try and help him reverse history and help his side progress past Viktoria Plzen.
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