Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar believes Rangers will pose a unique threat with their ‘vertical football’ in Athens - as he singled out one player that could cause Olympiacos danger tomorrow night.

Mendilibar, who led Olympiacos to the UEFA Conference League title last season, is aiming for a third successive European trophy on the spin having delivered Sevillie a Europa League title the season prior. Like Rangers, his side sit on six points after three games and have defeated Malmo in Sweden and lost against French outfit Lyon in the group stage. Their other outing in this competition was a 3-0 win over Braga at home.

Speaking from the club’s Georgios Karaiskakis stadium on the eve of the game Mendilibar was quick to talk up the threat posed by Philippe Clement’s men, who boast strength in the collective rather than isolation.

“Every game is complicated. Some of them, like Braga, seem easy because of the result but they are not,” he said. 

“We have to compete with due respect for Rangers and I'm sure we will. In the end, we are tied on points, the two teams, them and us. And whoever wins takes a big step to qualify. It's true that all games are difficult. Each one has its own difficulties. It doesn't depend on the opponent but on the details of the games. Tomorrow is a very important game for both of us. It's very balanced and I think both teams are coming to win.

“We have to do exactly the same things we did against Braga and against Malmo, playing with the same intensity and then we will get the three points.

“We have seen the opponent and analysed them. We have seen some of their matches in the league and also in the European competitions."

Olympiacos sit fourth in the Greek league having won five, drawn three and lost two of their domestic matches. While favourites for the tie against the Ibrox side tomorrow night given home advantage, Mendilibar is under no illusions of the test that lies ahead against Clement’s direct football.

“The idea of how we want to play doesn't change much depending on the opponent,” he added.

“It is true that each opponent is different so we will have to adapt to what they do but in the beginning, it doesn’t matter if we are home or away, we will try to play in the opposite half of the pitch and press.

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“We also have to see the Rangers' game. If they play directly, it is more difficult because we would start from areas further away to their penalty box. 

“The truth is that we have a specific idea of how to play, a specific style. And this doesn't change depending on the opponent we have to face. But we know very well that Rangers are a team who plays a lot with throughballs and vertical football .Which means that most likely it will be a bit more difficult for us to get close to their goal and put some threats on them. 

“If someone stands out? It is Vaclav Cerny. I think it is a team that is not about individuals. You have some amazing players at the back who help a lot in the build-up and come high, the same applies to the midfielders who can be quite aggressive. It is a very good team not just a sum of good players individually.”