Lyon boss Peter Bosz feels Steven Gerrard 's long tenure at Rangers will be an added advantage on Thursday night, as he shrugged off the absence of Moussa Dembele.
The Ligue 1 giants visit Ibrox for the opening game of their Europa League group, having returned to continental football after missing out in 2020-21 for the first time since the mid 1990s.
Bosz only took over at Parc OL in May as he replaced Rudi Garcia, while his opposite number on Thursday night guided Rangers to the Premiership title in his third season.
And the Dutchman feels a playing squad used to what their manager wants is a major advantage for the hosts.
Bosz explained: "The manager has been there for a long time, that’s one strength.
“The players know their coach’s system, then of course they have their fans too. They’re a team who are playing well.
"It’s great to be here, we want to be playing twice a week so I’m happy.
“It’s not a problem, the players are in good shape and can play two games a week. It’s a pleasure to be here.
"Our ambition is to win every game. You have to win and play well. If you win but you don't play well, you won't get there. We are on the right track but we still have to improve."
The big talking point leading up to the game was the return of Dembele, who had a habit of scoring against Rangers during his time at Celtic.
However, the striker has been ruled out of the tie with Islam Slimani likely to come into the starting XI to replace him.
Despite losing his main goalscoring threat though, Bosz is relaxed about the situation.
He shrugged: "He's not here, but other players can replace him, it's not a huge problem.
"We have several options to replace him, we can play in a different way. My players will be the first to know, I can’t say anything about that.”
Brazilian duo Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes have been allowed to travel after fears they'd miss out due to Covid quarantine rules, and the OL boss hailed a victory for common sense.
Bosz said: "I’m very happy, it’s the logical decision.
“In these coronavirus times you need to adapt to quick changes.”
One potential weakness for Rangers to exploit is a Lyon backline that has been shaky at times this season, but Bosz is confident he's seen steps forward.
He said: "It’s not just in defence that we need to improve, the whole team need to play well and progress.
“We were already better in defence against Strasbourg, as well as being better with our pressing and shape.
“It’s not just the defence.”
