Michael Owen is backing Liverpool to make light work of Rangers in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday evening.
The Reds have three points from their first two Group A matches after suffering a 4-1 hiding against Napoli before scoring a late goal to beat Ajax 2-1 at Anfield. But Scottish Premiership side Rangers have suffered two comprehensive defeats, going down 4-0 and 3-0 to Ajax and Napoli respectively.
Liverpool's patchy Premier League form continued on Saturday with a disappointing 3-3 draw against Brighton, but Owen - who left Merseyside for Real Madrid in the summer of 2004 before the Reds went on to become European Champions for the fifth time in 2005 - thinks his former club will simply be too strong for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side, in what will be a first ever competitive fixture between the two teams.
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Owen 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. It might be a different story at Ibrox, but not at Anfield.”
The return fixture in Glasgow will be next in the competition schedule after Tuesday night's Anfield encounter, as the reverse match-up is played on Wednesday, October 12.
Napoli are currently top of Group A with six points, followed by Jurgen Klopp's side with three, who sit above Ajax on the head-to-head rule. Rangers are yet to register a point and are competing in the Champions league group stage for the first time since 2011.
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