Rangers boss Walter Smith knows how strong a side Fred Rutten has at PSV Eindhoven.

The Glasgow giants and the Dutch Eredivisie leaders clash tonight at Philips Stadion in the Europa League Round of 16 first leg and Smith is expecting a step up in class for his men after getting past Sporting Lisbon in the last phase.

"They look as though they are having a season where they are more than capable of winning the championship," he said.

"I think PSV are in a better place than Sporting Lisbon at the present moment, you know, with Sporting Lisbon, a little bit like ourselves, embroiled in one or two off-field problems.

"They look as though they're having a really good season, they've got themselves top of the league, they're going very well.

"So, therefore, I'd say we've probably got a much tougher task in this round."

Smith could be boosted by the return of striker Kyle Lafferty and winger Vladimir Weiss for tonight's meeting which kicks off at 6:00pm GMT.