Porto manager Sergio Conceicao has made Rangers’ next opponents in the Europa League, Bayer Leverkusen, one of the favourites to win the whole competition.

The Portuguese club lost 5-2 on aggregate in the last 32, and despite having also faced the Light Blues in the group stages, Conceicao said the German side are the best side his team have played in the tournament this campaign:

“Let me be clear, Bayer Leverkusen are an extremely strong team and certainly the best we have faced in this competition. In my opinion, they are one of the strong favourites to win the Europa League.”

Gers boss Steven Gerrard has also admitted that Leverkusen were one of the toughest opponents they could have been drawn against in the round of 16.

However, after beating Braga over two legs, they will be confident of giving the Bundesliga outfit a stern test when they come up against them next month.

The first game is at Ibrox on March 12th, with the return leg at the BayArena the following Thursday. It will be an intense week for the Bears with the small matter of the Old Firm derby sandwiched between the two games.