Leon Balogun says Borussia Dortmund are weakened by Erling Haaland's absence for Europa League second leg with Rangers
Rangers have a 4-2 lead ahead of Thursday night's second leg at Ibrox; Borussia Dortmund are without striker Erling Haaland; Aaron Ramsey is still missing for Rangers
Wednesday 23 February 2022 18:18, UK
Leon Balogun says the absence of Erling Haaland is a major boost for Rangers as they look to finish the job against Borussia Dortmund and progress in the Europa League.
Haaland missed last Thursday's match in Germany as Rangers claimed a shock 4-2 victory at the Westfalenstadion.
The Norwegian striker has not travelled to Glasgow for the second leg as he continues to recover from injury.
Balogun is back available after returning to training and knows the loss of Haaland is a blow for Dortmund ahead of Thursday night's clash.
"I think in this competition you want to compete against the best and he is one of the best at the moment," he said.
"So from that perspective, it is a sad thing. But if you look at what he means to Dortmund then surely it is a disadvantage to them, it is going to weaken them a little bit.
"But mixed feelings. Definitely not going to complain about it though."
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Aaron Ramsey will be missing again from the Rangers squad for Thursday night's tie against the German side.
The Ibrox side's marquee January signing has managed just 94 minutes since joining on loan from Juventus.
Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has no other fresh injury worries as he looks to lead Rangers to another famous victory.
"We had a great performance last week and we know it is only halfway. Our focus is to play as strong as possible and aim to win the match," the Dutchman said.
"We played to our strengths and pressed in the right moments. It will be a very exciting game and one you want to play.
"To begin the game and sit deep, I don't think that's our system. With the backing of our fans we want another beautiful European night at Ibrox as we aim to get into the next round.
"We have confidence from our recent performances as we have been creating a lot of chances."
Rose: We need to keep Morelos quiet
Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has impressed this season and has taken his European goal tally to 31.
Dortmund manager Marco Rose is impressed by his style, but he hopes he won't add any more goals on Thursday night.
"He has good movements and he is brave. He's not so tall but very brave.
"He was very difficult for our defenders to defend and I like his style and mentality.
"He is scoring. We saw it in the league when we were preparing for these games.
"I hope tomorrow he will not have such a good day.
"He deserved his record but tomorrow he should stop adding more."
