Europa League news: Rangers and West Ham on brink of major European success
Rangers and West Ham will put their domestic ambitions to one side as they battle for European supremacy against German opposition.
A historic week beckons for the two British clubs as they prepare for their first leg Europa League semi-final games against RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.
No team in world football has won as many league titles as Rangers. However, despite their domestic heroics, the club have only ever won one European trophy in their 150-year history - the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup.
West Ham haven't pulled up many trees on the continent either, winning the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup as well as the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
RB Leipzig vs Rangers
Despite going through a managerial change earlier in the campaign, this could turn out to be a strong season for RB Leipzig. The team are on course for a top-four finish in the Bundesliga and could yet end the season with a DFB Pokal/Europa League cup double.
Rangers have fallen six points behind in the Premiership title race but are eyeing two cup wins under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, after the Gers beat Celtic at Hampden to make the Scottish Cup final.
Those are probably the only similarities between two clubs which couldn't be any more different. While Rangers are a club based on history and tradition, RB Leipzig are the epitome of the modern football landscape.
Recent form
Europa League knockout-stage journey
Last 32
RB Leipzig 5-3 Real Sociedad
Borussia Dortmund 4-6 Rangers
Last 16
RB Leipzig (walkover) Spartak Moscow
Rangers 4-2 Crvena Zvezda
Quarter-final
RB Leipzig 3-1 Atalanta
Braga 2-3 Rangers
West Ham vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Unlike Rangers and RB Leipzig, these two clubs have a lot more in common. Both, for instance, have faced relegation in recent years. Both have also come back strong and are now challenging the status quo in their respective leagues.
Recent form
West Ham have done well to keep up with their top-six challengers for the majority of the Premier League season, but it appears the Hammers are beginning to run out of steam in the crucial time of the campaign.
One win from their last five games has seen David Moyes' men drop to seventh in the standings - still just two points away from Manchester United.
Eintracht have suffered a similar fate. Their hopes of fighting for the top six in the Bundesliga were dashed by a poor run of form in recent weeks.
Europa League knockout-stage journey
Last 32
West Ham - bye
Eintracht Frankfurt - bye
Last 16
Sevilla 1-2 West Ham
Real Betis 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Quarter-finals
West Ham 4-1 Lyon
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 Barcelona