Rangers and the incredible 17 game streak that tees up Benfica Europa League decider up to be an epic

Rangers will look to come flying out the traps when they welcome Benfica to Ibrox in the second leg of their huge last 16 clash in the Europa League.

With the scores evenly poised at 2-2 from the first encounter in Lisbon, the Gers will be looking to get in the faces of their esteemed opponents from the get go to try and seize the initiative in the decisive tie. Despite the game kicking off at the slightly unusual time of 5.45pm, the Ibrox crowd will be on their A-game to try and drive their side to the last eight of Europe's second most prestigious continental competition.

But there is one remarkable statistic that Rangers boss Philippe Clement will be extremely wary of going into such a massive game. In each of the Gers last 17 games in all competitions, there has been no first half that has finished goalless. The last time either team failed to find the net in the first 45 minutes in a game involving the Light Blues came back on December 18, when Aberdeen faced off against Clement's men in the final of the Viaplay Cup.

After a goalless first half, Rangers skipper James Tavernier struck the crucial blow with just 14 minutes to go to deliver his team's first triumph in the competition for 13 years. So while Clement will be keen for his players to play on the front foot and get the crowd behind them early doors, the Belgian manager knows they need to strike a fine balance in taking the game to Benfica while trying to keep things tight at the other end.

Ties in European knockout football are often decided by the slimmest of margins, and with players like Angel Di Maria, Rafa Silva and David Neres capable of unlocking a defence at any given moment, the home side will need to ensure they are switched on for every second of