MARCO ROSE has pinpointed Rangers trio Joe Aribo, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos as the three main dangers to Borussia Dortmund’s Europa League dreams.
The German giants head into the first leg of their knock-out round clash as heavy favourites to progress and as one of the sides that have been tipped to go all the way in the competition this term.
Dortmund are second in the Bundesliga standings and are expected to emerge victorious at the Westfalenstadion ahead of the return fixture in Glasgow next week.
But boss Rose – who will be without star striker Erling Haaland due to injury – will take nothing for granted as he highlighted the threats that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will carry for the first leg of a glamour European tie.
Rose said: “In general it’s a team which performs as a team. I’d say that’s one of their strong points. Of course there are a few players that we have to take care of.
“Kent is really strong in the one-v-ones on the wing. He always prepares goals so we have to pay attention to him.
“In the front, Morelos scored a lot in the last few matches and Roofe is another option.
“Aribo is a physically strong No.8 and also very strong in the centre.
“In general it’s a team that plays very good football which has physical weapons.
“They have speed which prepares the goals over the wings. But they are also capable of combining so we have to be ready for all those tasks.
“We want to put our own play on the pitch so we want to control the match, we don’t want to have too much back and forth.
“We want to be dominant with the ball. If we don’t have possession we want to get the ball back as quick as possible.
“If they play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, well they always play on one player, so we have to pay attention to that.”
Rangers booked their place in the knock-out round after finishing second in Group A as they overcame Sparta Prague and Brondby to qualify for the third successive season.
Dortmund, meanwhile, are now expected to make a challenge for the silverware after finishing behind Ajax and Sporting and dropping down into the Europa League this term.
The Light Blues have re-established themselves on the continent in recent years and Rose won’t underestimate the champions as his side aim to book their place in the last 16 of the competition.
Rose said: “Well that’s what we’ll see. All we have is images and of course the Scottish league is not comparable to the Bundesliga.
“But they have played Europa League and came through a group with Lyon in it.
“They beat Celtic at home at the beginning of the season, now they have recently lost away.
“But they are quite capable of playing really quick, swift football. If we let them play their football they play great stuff.
“Giovanni van Bronckhorst has a clear idea of the football he wants to play and it’s a team that has the right to play at this knock-out stage.
“They’ve earned it and we’re conscious of that fact. It’s no surprise they are here at this stage.”