There s no getting away from it, Rangers have a hell of a task awaiting them at Villa Park.

Aston Villa are a strong side in good form and many believe they are currently the best team outside the Premier League s big four - and the most likely to break into it.

I had a chance to see them on Sunday, when they won 2-1 at West Brom and showed what might be in store for Rangers this week.

Martin O Neill will make some changes for Wednesday night s Carling Cup tie but he means it when he says he takes the competition and QPR very seriously.

That could mean the R s are spared the ordeal of having to deal with John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor, with Marlon Harewood and possibly Wayne Routledge among the fringe players in contention.

Craig Gardner could also play and O Neill is expected to start with recent signing Carlos Cuellar at the back.

But it s unlikely that wholesale changes will be made and, although some tweaking could upset Villa s rhythm and give Rangers something to exploit, whatever team O Neill puts out will take some stopping.

For starters, they are very strong indeed at set-pieces. Ashley Young s deliveries are excellent and free-kicks conceded in their own half will cause Rangers problems.

At least one of the midfield trio of Reo-Coker, Petrov and Barry is likely to be rested but it is still an area Villa tend to be strong in.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation, the system Rangers have used this season, the man in the attacking central midfield position will have a vital role to play against Villa s midfield.

He will need to drop deep and get forward at the right times to occupy the likes of Petrov and stop Rangers being swamped.

Martin Rowlands, who has been playing there of late, is perfect for the job because he s a grafter who can also offer a threat going forward. Opting for Dani Parejo would be a risk.

Akos Buzsaky is a class act who could trouble even a top Premier League side in that advanced midfield role and is intelligent enough to track back when he needs to, despite being a different type of player to Rowlands.

Buzsaky could be a good option there, perhaps with Rowlands replacing Cook on the left a position from which he could still annoy Villa while tucking in to provide essential cover through the middle.

Buzsaky and Rowlands can both keep the ball well as they showed at Chelsea in the FA Cup last season and this will be important because Villa are one of the best counter-attacking teams around and Rangers can t afford to be sloppy against them.

Rangers will also offer a threat of their own. They have attacking midfielders of genuine quality and no defence likes playing against that type of player.

If Damien Delaney shakes off a knock in time to play, his surging runs from full-back to support whoever gets the nod on the left flank could cause Villa problems.

And on the opposite side, I think Rangers might be able to get at Nicky Shorey, especially if Emmanuel Ledesma starts.

The game against QPR will be another tough one, O Neill said after Sunday s match.

It s a game we might learn to our cost not to change things too phenomenally in because we could get turned over. In fact, we could get turned over even with our very best team.

How do you see it going? Let s have your thoughts.