UEFA Cup finalists Rangers head to Manchester in the knowledge that their chances of success could well rest on their ability to keep Zenit St Petersburg's strike force at bay.

It is a tactic that has stood the Glasgow side in good stead so far in the competition but, despite having made it as far as the City of Manchester Stadium, the manner in which Walter Smith's side have got there has brought about a fair amount of criticism.

The facts and figures tell the story why:

- Three of Rangers' last four games in this season's UEFA Cup have ended goalless.

- They have recorded four goalless draws en route to Manchester and have failed to score in five of eight UEFA Cup ties this season.

- They have scored just five goals in eight games in this season's tournament.

- In their final four Champions League games this season, which preceded their involvement in the UEFA Cup, they failed to score a further three times.

- Including those last four Champions League games, they have scored just seven goals in their last 12 European outings.

Hardly the kind of form that is likely to set Eastlands alight come Wednesday night.

But there could be hope yet for an entertaining performance in Manchester - tournament history suggests that goals will be scored.

The UEFA Cup as a whole has traditionally been a free scoring competition and over the last 10 years, the final itself has witnessed a glut of goals.

Since the inception of the current one-legged format for the final in 1998, three or more goals have been scored in seven of the 10 matches.

Sevilla tonked Middlesbrough 4-0 in 2006, Celtic lost 3-2 to Porto in 2003 and Liverpool went goal crazy in 2001, beating Alaves 5-4 in extra time of a thrilling match.

Just one, the 2000 final between Galatasaray and Arsenal, ended goalless and had to be settled by penalties.

Penalty kicks this time round, of course, could well play right into Rangers' hands. They certainly seem prepared for that particular eventuality - goalkeeper Neil Alexander has already spoken of it and Smith's side have proven they are capable of winning that way.

But while those tactics may not entertain the crowd in the way certain other sides have done over the years, there can nonetheless be few Rangers fans who will care how it is done if it is Barry Ferguson holding the trophy aloft come 10 o'clock on Wednesday night.

Follow the match with LIVE text commentary right here on eurosport.yahoo.com from 19:45 BST on Wednesday!

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