Babbel aims to root out wily Rangers

In only his second season as a coach, VfB Stuttgart's Markus Babbel has set his heart on outwitting "an old tactical fox" at the VfB Arena as Walter Smith prepares his Rangers FC side for a fifth group-stage meeting with the out-of-form German outfit. Indeed, the Scottish titleholders have been paired with Stuttgart in the German club's two previous appearances at this stage, in 2003/04 and 2007/08.

Markus Babbel, Stuttgart coach
There are several players still here from two years ago; we learned from that experience and I'm sure we will do better this time. We're prepared for opponents who will not be faint of heart and who will give it everything. I don't know if they will play with one or two strikers – they haven't told me – but I expect them to play a bit more defensively, to hit us fast on the break; they did very well like that two years ago. It's a big challenge for me to outwit an old tactical fox like Walter Smith. What he has achieved so far makes him a role model for me. He has qualified for the Champions League over and over again and performs well with his team once he gets there.

Walter Smith, Rangers manager
I don't think much has changed compared to two years ago. We are stronger now, but we will have to wait and play the match. Last time we played here we lost 3-2 and it was one of our better away games that campaign. It was the season where we reached the UEFA Cup final in the end the match here was rather an open one. They fought hard, but they did not put that much pressure on us – we could launch our own attacks as well. I hope that will be the case tomorrow too, with a different result of course.

Key stats
• Two seasons ago Stuttgart lost their first two home games in the group, both 2-0, against FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais, before a 3-2 win against Rangers. They nevertheless finished bottom of the section with Rangers, who won their first away game against Lyon before losing at Barcelona and Stuttgart, third.

• On 27 November 2007, goals from Charlie Adam and Barry Ferguson were not enough for Rangers, with Cacau and Pável Pardo paving the way for Ciprian Marica's 85th-minute winner for the hosts.

• At Ibrox on 19 September 2007 Mario Gómez gave the visitors the lead but Adam replied for Rangers and Hutton then won a penalty which Jean-Claude Darcheville converted to secure a 2-1 victory.

• Their 2003/04 group-stage meetings also ended with a home victory apiece, Rangers winning 2-1 at Ibrox and Stuttgart triumphing 1-0 in Germany.

Team news
• Rangers
Out: Kyle Lafferty (knee), Maurice Edu (knee), Kirk Broadfoot (foot), Andrew Little (hamstring)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

• Stuttgart
Out: Ludovic Magnin (left thigh)
Doubtful: Aleksandr Hleb (buttock)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Weekend results
12/09/09 Motherwell FC 0-0 Rangers

12/09/09 Hamburger SV 3-1 Stuttgart
(Petrić 30, Elia 58, Zé Roberto 91; Pogrebnyak 62)

Did you know?
Pavel Pogrebnyak was suspended when FC Zenit St. Petersburg beat Rangers 2-0 in the 2008 UEFA Cup final but his ten goals en route to Manchester made him the competition's top scorer that season.