Rangers braced for Stuttgart backlash

Stuttgart v RangersRangers manager Walter Smith admits he fears Stuttgart's run of poor results in the Champions League could spur them on to victory tonight.

The Bundesliga champions have failed to register a single point in the campaign after four consecutive defeats. They opened with a 2-1 reverse against Rangers at Ibrox, then went down 2-0 at home to Barcelona before suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of French champions Lyon.

With a trip to the Nou Camp marking their final Group E match, Stuttgart know the visit of Rangers is their best chance to put some points on the board.

And Smith knows that means he has to prepare for a potential backlash from the Germans. "There is an awkward situation there where their pride has been dented by the fact they have played four games and have no points," he said. "I don't think anybody expected that to be the case. That, in many ways, could be the biggest motivation that Stuttgart have.

"Stuttgart have shown the difficulties of the Champions League. They played well at Ibrox for a period, as they did at Lyon, and came away with no points. It shows the standards you have to reach and the levels of play that are necessary at this level."

Stuttgart's domestic form has improved and they have now registered four consecutive victories - including a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich - to take them up to seventh in the Bundesliga and Smith believes they are now a better team than the one Rangers met on match day one.

"It will be a very tough game," he said. "Stuttgart showed in the first leg at Ibrox for an hour that they were excellent and we had to work very hard to nullify them then. This will be a similar type game tomorrow night and we will have to do extremely well if we are to win."

Rangers are already guaranteed at least a Uefa Cup spot and would secure their passage to the last 16 of the Champions League tomorrow night if they defeat Stuttgart and Lyon lose their home match against section leaders Barcelona.