Group G strugglers Rangers and Stuttgart face off at Ibrox on Tuesday in the Champions as both seek to stay alive in the race for the Round of 16.
The Scottish side have just two points from their first four games in the group, and they face elimination from Europe with a loss. They do come off a strong Scottish Premier League performance at the weekend in which they won 3-0 over Kilmarnock.
Stuttgart, who continue to struggle in the Bundesliga, are a point better than Rangers, and they will clinch a berth in the Europa League, at least, with a win. They were held 1-1 by Bundesliga bottom side Hertha Berlin at the weekend as pressure continues to mount on manager Markus Babbel despite several votes of confidence from the club.
Rangers will continue to be without Pedro Mendes with a leg injury, and both Maurice Edu and Kirk Broadfoot continue to miss out due to injury. Leading scorer Kris Boyd has a leg problem, but could be a late addition to the starting XI. Steven Naismith and Jerome Rothen are in similar positions.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, continue to be without Martin Lanig with a knee ligament problem, but Serdar Tasci could possibly feature as he recovers from a foot injury. Ludovic Magnin is a doubt with a thigh strain.
Both sides still have a lot to play for, especially with Unirea facing a tough home test against Sevilla. A draw would be the worst result for either side as they would not have a chance to pass the Romanians. Expect a wide open game that could produce a lot of goals.
REVIEW:
Stuttgart breathed some life into their miserable season thus far as they won 2-0 at Rangers in Group G, ensuring the Germans still have a shot to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.
Markus Babbel's visiting side took the lead on 16 minutes when Sebastian Rudy beat goalkeeper Allan McGregor from inside the area following Alexander Hleb's cross.
Stuttgart had another in the net via Zdravko Kuzmanovic, but the flag was up for offside on the free kick. Stuttgart rarely let Rangers in the game, and it led to their second in the 58th minute.
Previous goal scorer Rudy fired in a wonderful cross that Kuzmanovic met with his head, guided the ball past McGregor with great precision.
Stuttgart looked more like scoring the next goal, but it was not needed, and they will host Unirea in a fortnight, and the Germans need to win in order to advance to the Round of 16.
Rangers were eliminated from European competition with the defeat, and they have just two points from five games.