Newly-appointed Rangers boss Ally McCoist is preparing for his first European night in charge of the Old Firm giants as the club host Malmo in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday (Rangers 4/9, draw 11/4, Malmo 11/2).
The former Gers striker has already learnt his new role will not be all plain sailing at Ibrox – after he saw his side held to a 1-1 draw against Hearts in the opening game of the SPL season on Saturday.
McCoist is still looking to bring fresh faces to the Glasgow outfit, with Romanian defender Dorin Goian close to completing a deal from Italian club Palermo.
The new Ibrox boss is also hoping United States midfielder Alejandro Bedoya will be able to join sooner than expected, after the 24-year-old signed a pre-contract agreement with the SPL champions.
So, after a disappointing start to the new campaign, attentions will have to quickly turn to Tuesday night’s game in Europe.
The Champions League has become more important than ever to teams in Scotland, with only one side being able to qualify for the lucrative competition each year.
With the financial trouble at Ibrox, they will be desperate to qualify for the tournament this year but first they will have to get past Malmo in their third qualifying round clash.
The Swedish outfit managed to see off HB Tórshavn in the last round but have not been in the best form in their domestic league competition in recent weeks, with only one win in their last five games.
Malmo, who sit in eight place in the Allsvenskan table, will have their work cut out for them when they face the Scottish Champions.
The inexperience of the Malmo squad could be an issue in this upcoming clash, with the average age of the squad at just over 23-years-old, a Champions League qualifier could be one of the biggest games many of these players will have featured in.
However, what will stand Malmo in good stead is the fact they are in the middle of their domestic season whilst the weather is good in Sweden.
Although the SPL campaign has started earlier than ever before, Rangers (11/8 SPL 2011/2012 outright) are still finding their feet in competitive football after the summer break and could be caught out cold if their Scandinavian opposition can take an early advantage.
Malmo will be determined to be in the contest when the two sides meet at the Swedbank Stadoin in the return leg on August 3 and will look to put men behind the ball and catch Rangers on the break.
Even through Gers did not look as sharp as they could have been against Hearts, with the likes of Steven Davies, Steven Naismith and Nikica Jelavic in their ranks they should still have enough attacking threat to secure the win and put one foot in the competition for real.
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