Malmo manager Henrik Rydstrom is confident his side can win playing their way against Rangers in Thursday’s Europa League clash - just like the last two meetings between the clubs.

The Swedish Champions have knocked Rangers out of Champions League qualifiers in their previous two encounters, 2011 and 2021. Tomorrow’s one-legged tie, played at the Eleda Stadion in Sweden, is the first match in the new and revamped Europa League group stage. Replacing the old group stage format is a one-tier league table that will see every outfit play at least eight games before the knock-out phase.

Rydstrom was dissatisfied with Malmo's showing against Sparta Prague as they exited the Champions League Play-off stage recently. In his eyes, it’s important his side imprints their unique style of play tomorrow night to have the best chance of three points.

“They [Rangers] are a well-organised, structured team that plays a little bit different, in a different way, to what we do. Rangers are quite a positional team,” he said.

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“But they’re also a team that are strong. We know that when we play in Europe, it's higher intensity. More runs, higher speed. Those kinds of things will be important tomorrow.

“We were not happy with the way we performed over two legs against Sparta Prague. They were quite even games. Maybe we had the ball a little bit more. But we need to control the game more against Rangers than we did against Sparta.

“It's also important that we don't fall into a trap. We’ve spoken about the physical demands of the game, but that's not the way we want to play the game. It's more about forcing them to play our game than about us playing their game, which can be more physical.”

Asked who is the favourite, he added: “We can look at other things than the odds. We can see the amount of money Rangers spend on players,  and coaches and then they are above us. I think their coach earns a little bit more than me for example.

“We are strong and people respect us so I have no problem with that. But we are also aware of the strength that Rangers possess.”

Rydstrom’s side have attracted attention for their unique ‘Relationist’ attacking style of play that rejects the positional restrictions and rehearsed patterns favoured by many coaches. While the Swedish coach pointed out that Malmo are not without ridig tactical instructions in other phases of play, he explained the thinking behind the attacking formula he hopes can find a way past Clement’s men.

“I can talk for hours about [our style of play]. But basically, it started with a little bit of how can we give the ball to Anders [Christiansen, Malmo’s No.10] and then put him up in as many good situations as possible. That was the starting point when I arrived here in November 2022,” Rydstrom added.

Malmo No.10  Anders Christiansen (Image: SNS)

“We looked into how Malmö played before and asked what can we do. That was actually the starting point. And from there, we have developed different concepts. We have been inspired by different teams.

“I'm a coach that likes to steal and borrow things. That was a challenge here. I think it's always a challenge when you arrive at big clubs. Because they are not always so keen on trying new things. It’s ‘because we have done this for ages, we do this again and again and again.’

“I could still be a really positional guy. That you need to stay here and then we need a player here. But basically, I thought it was kind of boring. And then we started to give the ball to Christiansen and develop things around him so he could be the best version. And do the things he's good at. And from there, other things started to develop.

“We want to be close to each other. We want to get the players to feel the joy. It’s not just a case of giving the ball to Christiansen and he solves it. It's really strict in some other parts. But not from a positional point of view. And I think that also makes it a little bit unpredictable for the opponent.

“Sometimes it's unpredictable for me as a coach also. Because I'm like, ‘Now what is happening on the pitch?’ As a coach, you like to say, ‘Okay, now we do like this’. And you feel like God. And I don't feel like God. But then still it's a little bit more fluid game."

Rydstrom also laughed off a video Malmo’s media team posted earlier in the week which read, “When we met in 2011, you ended up in the fourth division. When we met in 2021, you ended up in the Europa League final.”

"I haven't seen the video. If I know our media department, it's done with a lot of love. I think we need that in football. I believe it's a good one. It's never a bad thing to remind the opponent that this happened before and it will probably happen again," he added.