Steven Gerrard has a chance to set the record straight against Czech foes as Rangers face Slavia Prague in Europa League last 16

As John Greig, Walter Smith and Alex McLeish all discovered to their cost, drawing Czech opposition in European competition can prove an occupational hazard for a Rangers manager.
Teenage Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima, Slavia Prague's top scorer this season, fires home the second goal in their 2-0 win at Leicester City on Thursday night. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Teenage Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima, Slavia Prague's top scorer this season, fires home the second goal in their 2-0 win at Leicester City on Thursday night. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Teenage Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima, Slavia Prague's top scorer this season, fires home the second goal in their 2-0 win at Leicester City on Thursday night. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Dukla Prague, Sparta Prague and Viktoria Zizkov delivered painful defeats for that trio of Ibrox bosses in 1981-82, 1991-92 and 2002-03 respectively, the three previous occasions Rangers have faced a Czech club.

But Steven Gerrard is entitled to feel confident he can buck that trend when his squad face Slavia Prague in the last 16 of the Europa League.

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The bookmakers were quick to price Rangers as odds-on favourites to progress from the tie after Friday’s draw in Nyon which delivered an outcome to be regarded as favourable by the Ibrox club.

Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has been in charge of the Czech champions since December 2017, guiding them to four major domestic honours so far. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has been in charge of the Czech champions since December 2017, guiding them to four major domestic honours so far. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has been in charge of the Czech champions since December 2017, guiding them to four major domestic honours so far. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Under a manager who has now won 24 and lost just five of his 43 Europa League games in charge, Rangers can set their sights on a place in the quarter-finals with some optimism.

But their approach will also be underscored by considerable respect for a Slavia outfit who defeated Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium on Thursday night to book their last 16 slot.

While Brendan Rodgers’ Premier League high-fliers were not at full strength, it was nonetheless an impressive scalp for the reigning Czech champions.

They have notched up several other eye-catching results in Europe since Jindrich Trpisovsky was appointed as head coach midway through the 2017-18 season.

In a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2018-19, Slavia enjoyed wins over Zenit St Petersburg and Sevilla before losing 5-3 on aggregate to Chelsea in the last eight.

Last season, 44-year-old Trpisovsky guided them into the group stage of the Champions League for only the second time in the club’s history. It proved a steep learning curve for Slavia who managed just two points as they finished bottom of a strong group featuring Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan.

They missed out on a return to the Champions League top table this season, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Danish side Midtjylland in the play-off round, before finishing second in their Europa League group behind Bayer Leverkusen.

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Trpisovsky has established Slavia as the dominant club in Czech football, winning two league titles and two Czech Cups during his tenure so far.

Like Rangers, they are currently unbeaten in their domestic league this season, boasting an eight-point lead over city rivals Sparta.

Slavia’s squad is largely made up of native Czech talent, a policy which has seen them develop players such as Tomas Soucek who is thriving at West Ham United after his £15 million move to the London club last year.

But among the foreign players Rangers will need to be wary of are Romanian winger Nicolae Stanciu, an international team-mate of Ibrox playmaker Ianis Hagi, and Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima.

Still only 19, Sima has made a huge impression since he was recruited from lower league outfit Taborsko last summer. Initially signed for Slavia’s B team, he was fast-tracked into the senior squad and is their top scorer so far this season with 15 goals in 22 games.

Four of them have come in the Europa League, including the brilliantly finished strike from distance which sealed the win at Leicester, and Sima may pose the biggest danger to Rangers’ prospects of a quarter-final place.

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