Steven Gerrard will lead Rangers in Europe for the first time and he will be keen to get off to the best possible start as they visit a tough ground on European nights.
The Liverpool legend has made a good start to his managerial career leading the Gers to the group stage after a very rigorous qualifying campaign is an achievement in itself and now they will look to build on that with a good start here.
The Gers beat Dundee 4-0 at the weekend – a result that impressed everyone except Gerard who demanded that his players be even more clinical in front of goal. Perhaps he was saying that because he knows tougher tests like this one lie ahead.
While Rangers have won just two of five league games dropping 5 points against Celtic and Aberdeen, they have conceded just three times in 8 European qualifying games despite playing tough teams like Maribor.
Rangers have conceded five goals in their last four games and only one of those games ended in a win for them however their host is also not in great form either.
Villarreal have won just one of their 4 league games so far.
They were so impressive last season that they blew away teams like Deportivo and Celta Vigo with high scoring margins but they haven’t quite reached those heights so far this season.
They signed Gerard Moreno and Karl Toko Ekambi over the summer who are yet to justify their transfers while Carlos Bacca who rediscovered his goal scoring touch last season has yet to catch any form.
This will be the third competitive meeting between Rangers and Villarreal.
They met previously in the last 16 of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League with Villarreal progressing on away goals after a 2-2 draw in Glasgow and a 1-1 draw in the return match in Spain.
Bookmakers have priced Villarreal very short to come out on top in this tie while goal markets suggest there should be goals.
Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions
Football Previews
Please Gamble Responsibly