Brian Laudrup pinpoints Borussia Dortmund’s weaknesses as Rangers legend identifies areas his old club can exploit in Europa League tie

Rangers legend Brian Laudrup reckons his old club can pull off a stunning result against a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Borussia Dortmund side on Thursday night.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men travel to Germany this afternoon ahead of the first-leg of their their Europa League round of 32 showdown with the Bundesliga giants.

Dortmund are strong favourites to take a lead into the return leg at Ibrox next midweek - but Danish hero Laudrup believes the Light Blues are more than capable of exploiting some of their glaring weaknesses.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, he said: “Their biggest issue is consistency. They are a real Jekyll and Hyde team.

“One week they lost 5-2 at home to Bayer Leverkusen. The next, they go away and beat a good Union Berlin side 3-0 with some top-class football.

“They also went out the German Cup to a second-division team in St Pauli. Finding a steady level of performance has been almost impossible.

“That gives Rangers hope. It’s still going to be an absolutely massive task over two legs - make no mistake - but I certainly wouldn’t write off the Ibrox side, particularly, if the ‘wrong’ Dortmund turn up.

“Going forward, they can be tremendous at times. World-class really. They have so many different players who can create and score, but they play a high-risk game and they always make mistakes in matches.

“I don’t feel their work rate is as good without the ball, so those are the moments when you can really hurt them.

“Leverkusen did that superbly with their count-attacking pace ten days ago, while set-pieces are another area of vulnerability.”

Laudrup wants to see the Scottish champions pose a significant threat to Dortmund’s shaky backline as he highlighted key areas that could present Rangers with a goal-scoring opportunity.

He added: “Dortmund have only had three clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season, which I find amazing. You will get chances against them if you can capitalise on their instability when they lose possession.

“I’m sure those are the sequences of play Van Bronckhorst would love to see with Rangers being able to drive at their defence.

“Mats Hummels and Manuel Akanji are very good centre-backs, no question about that. Hummels in particular is highly skilled and has had an excellent career, but he’s never been quick and he’s 33 now.

“I do think you can gain an advantage if you get at him and isolate him. Part of that is because I’m not the balance of Dortmund’s central midfield actually helps Hummels at times.

“At right-back, Thomas Meunier has had a lot of criticism. The Belgian makes mistakes with his passing. Critics in Germany question whether he has the quality to fit into the style of play.

“You could see a key clash within the game between Meunier and (Ryan) Kent. That might be critical. If Kent can build upon his recent improved form, he may be able to exploit that area for Rangers.”