The two sides meet in a competitive fixture for the first time as Giovanni van Bronckhorst takes his players to Merseyside for the eagerly-anticipated Battle of Britain clash.

Rangers warmed up for the encounter with a comfortable 4-0 dismantling of 10-man Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday while Liverpool's stuttering start to the season continued with a 3-3 draw at home to Brighton.

Despite his old club struggling for form and confidence, Owen believes Jurgen Klopp's men will have too much quality for the Ibrox side on the night.

He said: “It’s amazing they have never met, but Rangers won’t have played a team like Liverpool for a long time, and they’re going to need to pull a miracle off to win at Anfield.

"They have the pedigree and experience of big games, but it’s unlikely they will win. The gap in player quality is big.

“This sort of match would usually be a classic. Rangers are used to these big games, but I don’t think they are used to playing a team as good as Liverpool.

“With the poor results they have had in the group so far, they will be a bit nervous.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, pictured at Celtic Park for last month's Real Madrid fixture, reckons Rangers will 'need a miracle' at Anfield on Tuesday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

“It might be a different story at Ibrox, but not at Anfield.”

Rangers - competing in the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2011 - are still searching for the first points of the campaign after a 4-0 loss to Ajax in Amsterdam was followed by a 3-0 home defeat to Napoli.

Liverpool also suffered a heavy 4-1 reverse in Naples, but recovered to claim a 2-1 win over the Dutch champions in the most recent round of fixtures.

BT Sport pundit Owen added: “Against Napoli, Liverpool were really poor, the result was a fair reflection of how badly they played.

“They didn’t play great against Ajax either, so they will have breathed a sigh of relief they got the points.

“Their form hasn’t been great for most of the season.

“While Rangers have European pedigree, they have been walloped twice as well.

“It’s difficult to say how much the gap in standard is, but they did really well in Europe last season, and I’ve seen Celtic playing well this season.

“I actually think Scottish football is in really good health this season, both teams look pretty strong."

Owen also revealed he is a big fan of Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, who takes his side to Germany on Wednesday to face RB Leipzig.

“Ange Postecolgou is pretty exceptional, and he’ll be in high demand because of the way he’s gone about things at Celtic," he added.

“So the Scottish game is as strong as it’s been for a long time.

“With Rangers dipping out for a few years it put a dampener on things, but now they are back, it’s pushed Celtic to another level.

“Van Bronckhorst has also done a fantastic job. He’ll be disappointed with the first couple of results in the Champions League, but it’s a tough group.

“They have had some setbacks this season to Celtic and in Europe, but they are improving.

“I think Liverpool will be too strong for Rangers despite their form of late.”

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