Villarreal (2) v Rangers (2) El Madrigal, 7.45/TV3 (highlights): Despite Rangers' attempts yesterday to distance themselves from reports in France that Paul Le Guen had formally agreed to replace Alex McLeish as manager, the Scottish champions' lengthy pursuit of the man who led Lyon to three successive French titles appears close to an end.

Le Guen, with his assistant Yves Colleu and fitness coach Joel Le Hir, is expected to complete final negotiations for the move to Glasgow imminently, with confirmation possible this week alongside news of fresh investment in the Ibrox club.

The Rangers chairman, David Murray, has courted Le Guen since late last year, when McLeish's position first came under scrutiny. The former Scotland defender will now leave Ibrox in May and an agreement is understood to have been made in principle with Le Guen, pending discussions over a transfer budget and what terms he could leave under should he be tempted by another job.

Rangers' unwillingness to supply extra information is understandable given McLeish and his players are trying to focus on tonight's second-leg tie against Villarreal. A late own-goal by Juan Manuel Pena in the first leg, making the score 2-2, has handed Rangers fresh impetus.

"We expect Villarreal to come at us early because if they don't then it could become very nervous for them," McLeish said. It will be tough, and we accept that, but it would be nice if Villarreal felt the heat as well. They are expected to go through so there is maybe added pressure on them."

McLeish is without the suspended Dado Prso and the home side welcome back their captain Quique Alvarez, who missed the first leg. Asked whether a Rangers victory would be the shock result in Europe, McLeish admitted: "I think so. We're not favourites - we realise that. We weren't favourites before the first leg and we weren't favourites even to get out of the group stages. It's testimony to the squad, the coaches and my staff that, despite being one of the lowest-budget teams in the whole competition, they have done the club proud and it has been a fantastic achievement.

"I can't praise the players highly enough for getting us to this stage. I hope that we can do something even more spectacular by going through to the last eight. We know it will be tough. We accept that. But it would be nice if Villarreal felt the heat because nothing is decided yet."

The journey to the last 16 of the Champions League has been an epic one for Rangers. They recorded home and away wins over Cypriot champions Anorthosis Famagusta, before emerging from a group that included Inter Milan, Porto and Artmedia Bratislava.

And McLeish insists those players still lacking inspiration ahead of tonight's game need look no further than those matches. He said: "I'll tell them to look at the previous triumphs. It's an enormous stage for them, it's high-profile and it's the best club competition in the world.

"The players know they'll get huge exposure from a game such as this and that the eyes of the world are on them. It's a chance for them to show what they're made of."

"There has been a lot of talk about how we cope with Rangers' style of play," said the Villarreal manager, Manuel Pellegrini. "But we have beaten Everton and Middlesbrough and drawn twice with Manchester United in the past two years."

VILLARREAL (probable): Viera; Javi Venta, Alvarez, Gonzalo, Arruabarrena; Senna, Josico, Tacchinardi; Riquelme; Forlan, Jose Mari. Subs: Barbosa, Pena, Calleja, Hector Font, Sorin, Arzo, Roger.

RANGERS (probable): Waterreus; Hutton, Kyrgiakos, Rodriguez, Smith; Burke, Ferguson, Hemdani, Namouchi; Buffel, Lovenkrands. Subs: Klos, Boyd, Murray, Gavin Rae, Andrews, Ricksen, Novo.

Referee: A Hamer (Luxembourg).