Gerrard sends Leicester City warning

Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, has said that Slavia Prague’s result against Leicester City shows what a good side they are ahead of the Europa League clash on Thursday night.

City now have a rare week off ahead of the Premier League fixture against Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon after falling to Europa League defeat against the Czech side in the round of 32 stage.

Brendan Rodgers’ men drew 0-0 in the away leg before deservedly being beaten 2-0 in the home leg of the tie against Slavia.

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And City’s conquerors face another British side in the next round of the competition as they take on newly crowned Scottish Champions Rangers.

“I think Slavia’s performance over both legs was extremely strong,” he said in his pre-match press conference.

“Leicester are a very good team, with a very good coach who have so far had an excellent season, so instantly it made you well aware of the size of the challenge that we’re going to face.

“This is a team that is going extremely well domestically, so as I’ve said before, we’ve got major respect for the opposition for the players for the coach.

“And as far as we’re concerned, we know we have to be at out maximum in terms of our performance to get the job done.”

Rangers were confirmed as Scottish Champions for the first time since 2010/2011 on Sunday when rivals Celtic failed to beat Dundee United.

But they don’t have too long to celebrate with the game in the Czech Republic taking place on Thursday.

While City would have hoped to have continued their European journey, given the number of injuries in the squad, the week’s break could come as a blessing in disguise.

The Foxes have no midweek game for the first time in eight weeks , with Rodgers saying that he will use the week to fully prepare for the Premier League clash against Sheffield United as well as helping the players to recover from a hectic schedule.