Steven Gerrard’s men are hoping to extend their fine run of European form
Rangers resume their Europa League campaign in February with a round of 32 tie against Royal Antwerp.
Steven Gerrard’s side progressed from the same stage last season with a 4-2 aggregate victory against Portuguese side Braga, with a stirring comeback in the home leg at Ibrox proving one of the high points in Gerrard’s reign so far.
He’ll be hoping to emulate that success when his team travel to Belgium for the first leg on February 18. The return will be played at Ibrox on February 25.
Here’s a look at the team who stand between Rangers and a place in the last 16.
LOCATION AND BACKGROUND
Antwerp is situated about 25 miles north of Brussels, and is home to the 16,144-capacity Bosuilstadion.
The club were formed in 1880, and are known as ‘The Great Old’. They are regarded as Belgium’s oldest club.
FORM
The Belgian side sit seventh in the First Division, one place above Rangers’ Group D rivals Standard Liege. Their league form has been patchy, with consecutive defeats in recent weeks against Genk and Club Brugge.
They finished one point behind Spurs in Group J, winning four and losing twice. Their highlight came in October when they registered a surprise 1-0 win against Jose Mourinho’s men.
HONOURS
Antwerp have won the Belgian First Division on four occasions, but the most recent of those triumphs came in 1957. They were promoted to the top flight as champions in 2017.
They are the reigning Belgian Cup winners, with August’s 1-0 victory over Club Brugge their third time claiming the trophy. They have also won the 1992 Belgian Super Cup.
EUROPEAN HISTORY
The pinnacle of Antwerp’s European history came in 1992 when they reached the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final. Parma ran out 3-1 winners.
Prior to that, their best finish in European competition came in 1990. They were knocked out of the UEFA Cup at the quarter-final stage by FC Köln, having beaten Dundee United 6-3 on aggregate in the second round.
Last season they reached the playoff stage, where they were beaten 5-2 by AZ Alkmaar over two legs. It was their first experience of European competition since 1994.
In all, Antwerp have played 64 European matches, winning 21, drawing 14 and losing 29.
PERSONNEL
Antwerp are managed by Ivan Leko, who took over in May. Capped 13 times by Croatia, he’s also managed Club Brugge and Abu Dhabi’s Al-Ain FC.
Club captain is 35-year-old defensive midfielder Faris Haroun, who was capped six times by Belgium between 2007 and 2009. He also had two seasons at Middlesbrough.
32-year-old defender Ritchie De Laet will be familiar to British football fans, having played over 100 times for Leicester City.
34-year-old Israeli attacker Lior Refaelov is the club’s top scorer this season, ,with seven goals in 17 games.
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