Club Brugge v Rangers: Russell Martin's side face tough Champions League task in Belgium

Rangers need a huge performance and big result in Belgium if the Ibrox side is to reach the League Phase of the Champions League.

A 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the first leg of their play-off tie in Glasgow last week leaves hopes hanging by a thread but head coach Russell Martin insists his side are not writing off their chances of reaching the elite stage of the prestigious competition.

Last week’s match was a nightmare for Martin as his new-look side had a dismal first half that saw them 3-0 down at the break after some calamitous defending. Danilo’s second-half goal, and an improved performance, rekindled faint hopes but the team will still need to show their best football under the new coach if they are to rescue the tie against tough opposition.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 19: Rangers' Danilo celebrates scoring to make it 3-1 during a UEFA Champions League Play-Offs First Leg match between Rangers and Club Brugge at Ibrox Stadium, on August 19, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) — GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 19: Rangers’ Danilo celebrates scoring to make it 3-1 during a UEFA Champions League Play-Offs First Leg match between Rangers and Club Brugge at Ibrox Stadium, on August 19, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) SNS Group

In need of a win

Upsetting the odds and getting past Club Brugge to go into Thursday’s League Phase draw wouldn’t just bring a series of glamour games and a massive cash windfall to Rangers, it would also be a major morale boost after a difficult start to life under Martin.

The head coach has been backed by the new owners in the transfer market and is working to impose a new style on the team while overhauling the squad. However, fans were lukewarm about his appointment at best and results so far have seen him under pressure just weeks into the job.

While Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen were defeated to reach this stage in Europe, Premiership results have not been up to expectations. Successive 1-1 draws against Motherwell, Dundee and St Mirren mark the worst start to the league since 1989, and Martin’s record of three wins from nine games is the worst start of any Rangers manager.

In contrast, Club Brugge have won three of their four league matches so far and have won all three of their matches in Europe, defeating RB Salzburg home and away before their victory at Ibrox.

Tale of two strikers

PAISLEY, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 24: Rangers' Hamza Igamane sits on the bench during a William Hill Premiership match between St Mirren and Rangers at the SMiSA Stadium, on August 24, 2025, in Paisley, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) — PAISLEY, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 24: Rangers’ Hamza Igamane sits on the bench during a William Hill Premiership match between St Mirren and Rangers at the SMiSA Stadium, on August 24, 2025, in Paisley, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) SNS Group

Rangers have been boosted by news that Cyriel Dessers is “good to go” after missing three games with a knee injury but the squad is a forward down.

Hamza Igamane has hardly set the heather alight at the start of his second season with the club and had been linked with a move away since the start of the window.

Refusing to come off the bench against St Mirren, citing a previously unmentioned injury, raised further questions about his Ibrox future and it was revealed on the eve of the Brugge match that Lille have met a release clause in his contract, prompting the striker’s imminent departure.

Martin has no fresh injury concerns though, and will be able to put out what he sees as his strongest side on Wednesday.

‘The tie is very much alive’

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 05: Rangers' Djeidi Gassama celebrates with Oliver Antman as he scores to make it 3-0 during a UEFA Champions League Third Round Qualifier First Leg match between Rangers and Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox Stadium, on August 05, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) — GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 05: Rangers’ Djeidi Gassama celebrates with Oliver Antman as he scores to make it 3-0 during a UEFA Champions League Third Round Qualifier First Leg match between Rangers and Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox Stadium, on August 05, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) SNS Group

A draw in Athens and a defeat in Plzen mean Rangers are looking for a first away win in Europe this season, and will need at least a two-goal victory to proceed.

Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen is in no doubt about what he expects from Rangers.

“I expect a team that has nothing to lose anymore,” he said on Tuesday. “Like a little bit the second half, that they go all in, that they go full.

“They’ll try to score as quick as possible to come again in the game.”

Hayen says his side won’t sit back and wil lbe searching for a goal to try and kill off the tie. Martin aims to have the Belgians on the back foot and want the right “energy and mentality” from his players. if they show that, he thinks the team can enjoy a night to remember, and one that could kick-start his time in charge.

The Rangers boss said: “I think we have a real chance to come here and attack it and every team will have a plan, so it’ll be interesting to see what their plan is, and I’m sure it’ll be to try and build on the margin that they’re winning by.

“But we’ve been on the other end of this position already twice going into games, not quite knowing how the opposition will approach it.

“So our energy and our mentality has to really alter their plan very quickly and make their energy change. So they’re a good team, we know that.

“I think they felt we were a good team in the second half and I hope we put enough good moments together in that second half to make sure that they have a little bit of fear of what’s to come. And we’re ready for them.

“So we’re going to attack it and see where it takes us. This game is very much alive and the tie is very much alive in our eyes.”