Favourites Don’t Always Win – Antwerp Coach Welcomes Nice Draw Rangers

Following the last 32 draw of the Europa League on Monday, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers have landed Belgian top flight outfit Royal Antwerp as their first knockout opponents of the continental campaign.

Rangers have maintained their unbeaten charge in Europe throughout the group stage and entered the next round top of their group, while Antwerp lost two and won their remaining four games to book a showdown with the Scottish giants.

Leko admits Rangers are favourites to go through to the next round, but insists his team are not overly concerned as they were expecting a seeded club as opponents, having only managed a second-place finish in their group.

The Antwerp boss is expecting a competitive clash across both legs and can see his team potentially registering an upset over the Gers if they are able to be on top of their game.

“A nice draw”, Leko was quoted as saying by Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad.

“We hoped in advance for a team that we could handle.

“We were set to face a seeded team anyway, so the opponents are the favourites.

“That is also the case with Rangers.

“But the favourites don’t always win.

“If my team are top, we have a chance to advance.”

The first leg of the knockout tie will be held at the Bosuilstadion in Belgium on 18th February and Rangers will host Royal Antwerp in the reverse fixture at Ibrox on the 25th.

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