Stuttgart looking for European lift

Neither team can countenance anything less than victory at Ibrox on Tuesday as Group G stragglers VfB Stuttgart and Rangers FC attempt to breathe life into their troubled campaigns. The German side boast a one-point advantage over their hosts and hope to eradicate the two-point gap to second-placed FC Unirea Urziceni, with coach Markus Babbel stressing that "this is a different competition" to the Bundesliga, where his team lie in the relegation zone. His opposite number Walter Smith expects a tough match from a side whose form he says "it's not for us to judge", but he hopes to "at least to be involved in European football post-Christmas".

Walter Smith, Rangers coach
It's been a strange season for us in the Champions League. We have taken a couple of points in our away games and produced two good performances. However, we've not had any points from our home games and, in fact, suffered two heavy defeats. But the most important thing is that we're in a situation where we can still qualify for the last 16, or at least to be involved in European football post-Christmas. That's our aim. We know Stuttgart will give us a tough game, and it's not for us to judge their form. They have some high quality players. It can often happen that clubs aren't doing so well domestically, but thrive in the Champions League. It can become a focal point for them. But, hopefully, we'll also have something to be fighting for in the last game in Seville.

Markus Babbel, Stuttgart coach
The team did a fantastic job to finish third in the Bundesliga last season. Now we want to make the most of that by progressing to the last 16. Of course, we are having some problems in our domestic league, but this is a different competition. The quality is quite high in the German league. We've been creating a lot of chances, we have been playing well, but we haven't been scoring enough goals. Hopefully, we can rectify that against Rangers. I'm confident because we know Rangers have to do something. I feel we are ready and we're going to fight for three points. Overall the quality of the teams in the Champions League is higher than six or seven years ago. Even the so-called smaller teams have been pretty impressive. In our group, three clubs are still fighting for second place.

Weekend results
21/11/09 Rangers 3-0Kilmarnock FC
(Boyd 7, Miller 24, Whittaker 35)

• This win, coupled with Celtic FC's 2-1 loss at Dundee United FC the following day, left Rangers one point ahead with a game in hand.

• Kris Boyd has now scored 14 goals in as many games against his former club.

21/11/09 Stuttgart 1-1Hertha BSC Berlin
(Kuzmanović 82; Ramos 49)

• Zdravko Kuzmanović was sent off four minutes after scoring his second goal in three games, but the equaliser at least kept Stuttgart six points clear of basement side Hertha even as they dropped into the bottom three.

• Stuttgart are now ten games without a win following a third straight league draw.

Team news
Rangers
Out: Pedro Mendes (thigh), Maurice Edu (knee), Kirk Broadfoot (foot)
Doubtful: Steven Naismith (calf/hamstring), Kris Boyd (calf), DaMarcus Beasley (hamstring), Jérôme Rothen (sinus)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Steven Naismith

• Naismith (who is highly doubtful) and Boyd were both injured against Kilmarnock.

• Madjid Bougherra may be recalled having missed the Kilmarnock game after reporting back late from international duty.

Stuttgart
Out: Martin Lanig (cruciate ligament), Sami Khedira (foot), Stefano Celozzi
Doubtful: Ricardo Osorio (thigh), Serdar Tasci (foot), Ludovic Magnin (thigh)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Background
• In the 1-1 draw between the sides on Matchday 1, hosts Stuttgart took the lead through Pavel Pogrebnyak before Bougherra levelled for Rangers with 13 minutes remaining.

• Rangers have a formidable home record against German visitors, losing only two of the 21 competitive fixtures, with six drawn.

• Stuttgart's two 1-1 draws in their previous away games in the group have improved their recent travelling record in official European fixtures. They lost all three games on foreign soil in the 2007/08 group stage and in last season's UEFA Cup lost two and drew one of their three away games. They have not won any of their last nine fixtures on an opponent's ground in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup proper.

Did you know?
The teams met in the same UEFA Champions League group two years ago and again in 2003/04. On both occasions Rangers won their home games 2-1. In the 2003/04 group stage, Rangers won 2-1 at Ibrox and Stuttgart 1-0 in Germany.

For more information on the match in the official match press kit, click here.