Slavia Prague may not be playing in front of a raucous Ibrox on Thursday night, but former midfielder Michal Smarda reckons they should be gutted at missing out on a hair-raising atmosphere.
The Czech was part of the Viktoria Zizkov team that knocked Rangers out of the UEFA Cup in 2002, with Marcel Licka grabbing a crucial away goal in extra time of the second leg.
That gave the visitors a 3-1 win at Ibrox, sending Alex McLeish 's side crashing out of the competition.
Steven Gerrard's side won't have the fans to roar them on tomorrow, but one man who played that night feels that's not necessarily an advantage for Slavia.
Smarda recalled: "It was stuffy, the fans are right behind the goal - you can really feel the pressure.
"But I have to say, when the final whistle went it was ecstasy for us and huge disappointment for them. Suddenly there was this eerie silence.
"In the Czech Republic you'd hear whistling, but after a while the home fans started applauding us. They took it on the chin.
"I wish every footballer could experience the atmosphere at Rangers. Jesus, it makes your hair stand on end. You have this incredible motivation to show what you can do.
"It's why you play football, but in the current situation there's nothing that can be done.
"In the Autumn I was at Sparta and we played at Celtic and it was something completely different. I immediately remembered the Rangers match.
"We had this huge backdrop but it was just the lads in an intimate environment. It's a huge difference.
"Rangers will do anything to advance. There is no point in discussing this. There is nothing easy waiting for Slavia there, even without that incredible pressure from the fans.
"On the other hand they've come through difficult matches before, their players are confident and in form. Set pieces could be important but they'll have to be wary on the break.
"I think Slavia will definitely score."
