Steven Gerrard has underlined the scale of Rangers ' task to defeat Bayer Leverkusen by admitting he sees them as one of the favourites to win the Europa League outright.
The Germans comfortably dispatched Porto home and away in the last 32 and with stars that include £100m rated Kai Havertz they will be heavily fancied to progress.
Rangers have been no slouches in Europe themselves and also won both games in the previous round against Braga.
But Gerrard feels the ease of their dispatch of the men from Oporto is a sign of choppy waters ahead.
Gerrard said: "I think they are one of the favourites.
"The way they have dealt with Porto, I think they deserve to be one of the favourites.
"Ever since I made my debut, my experience of playing against German players and German teams is that they are always tough, big strong athletes who are tactically astute.
"It is exciting but it is going to be very tough."
The former Liverpool and England captain also highlighted the potential challenges of the second leg at the BayArena.
He said: "I know their stadium, it is a fantastic stadium.
"I have played there and experienced it and it can be an exciting place to go, real close to the pitch.
"The atmosphere is electric there, it is not a huge stadium but it is real close to the pitch and German fans all around the stadium, so it will be a good challenge for the players."
