Barry Ferguson reckons Rangers will have to be at their best if the Ibrox side are to overcome Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Jose Mourinho is preparing to host the interim Rangers manager in Istanbul with the Turks big favourites to progress over two legs.
But Rangers have boxed bravely above their weight class in the Europa League this season and the club’s travelling support will be hoping their bipolar squad fight back in Turkey.
Barry Ferguson knows all about the quality within the Fenerbahce ranks and reckons Rangers will need to stop the attacking talents of two players in particular to stand a chance.
Barry Ferguson singles out two Fenerbahce stars
Barry Ferguson does not agree with Philippe Clement’s assessment of Jose Mourinho’s ‘defensive’ tactics.
In fact, the interim Rangers manager has braced his team for an attacking onslaught from a Fenerbahce side which is strewn with high-profile experience and talent.
Two players in particular stand out above all the rest for Ferguson, who has singled out veteran striker Edin Dzeko and Serbian playmaker Dusan Tadic ahead of the Europa League clash.
”We understand what they’re coming up against,” Ferguson told the press ahead of the match with Fenerbahce. “They’re coming up against a very good team. Players like Tadic, Dzeko up front.
“They have so many other top-class players and we’re expecting a tough night. So, I think we need to be at our very best if we want to get a good result here.”
Later Ferguson also praised the effectiveness of Fenerbahce’s wing-backs and midfield.
”I think that with so many attack-minded teams, whether it’s Tadic, Dzeko, the two wing-backs are really forward-thinking as well,” explains Ferguson.
”The midfielders are good on the ball, they make aggressive passes. So, yeah, we’re expecting, I’m expecting a tough game.”
Fenerbahce duo the tip of Turkish iceberg facing Rangers
Edin Dzeko is one of the most high-profile players at Fenerbahce and at 38-years-old the former Manchester City striker is still banging them in.
Rangers News singled out Dzeko as one of three danger men for the Turks before the game and not without good reason.
Dzeko joined Fenerbahce last season and netted 25 goals in his debut campaign. Despite being a year older, this season the striker is on course to better it (19).
Ex-Ajax captain Dusan Tadic, 36, is another highly-experienced player who can hurt Rangers and that’s playing out in the veteran’s impressive stats from out wide.
Scoring 11 himself this season, Tadic has another 14 assists and Rangers will have to stop the Serbia captain if they have any chance of getting a result in Turkey.
To give you an idea of the experience of these two players, Dzeko has 139 caps for the Bosnian national side whilst Tadic has made 111 appearances for Serbia.
If Rangers’ youthful squad can get on top of both players it’ll go a long way to earning a place in the Europa League quarter finals.
Dzeko and Tadic are also only the tip of the iceberg in Turkey, with Fenerbahce boasting a talented squad including goalkeeper Dominic Livakovic, French winger Allan Saint-Maximin and Moroccan forward Youssef El-Nesyri.
That hasn’t stopped Jose Mourinho claiming Fenerbahce are at a disadvantage with four players set to miss the clash with Rangers.
Perhaps Rangers’ chances hinge on the return of John Souttar and Leon Balogun against Fenerbahce.
