Manchester, England (My Sportsbook) - Zenit St. Petersburg boss Dick Advocaat and his players insist the club will be fine without striker Pavel Pogrenbnyak on Wednesday in the UEFA Cup final against Rangers.

"Maybe it is even good that we have had all these problems because we all take responsibility and play as one," Zenit captain Anatoliy Tymoschuk said.

Pogrenbnyak, who is tied with Bayern Munich forward Luca Toni with 10 goals to lead all scorers in the UEFA Cup, got a yellow card in the second half against Bayern in the semifinals. He had two goals in the huge 4-0 win over Bayern and helped Zenit reach the final on aggregate, 5-1.

"Their 1-1 draw in Munich was terrific, the 4-0 win at home was exceptional," Rangers coach Walter Smith said. "It was probably one of the best results in European competition this season."

Although the potent Zenit attack will have to make up for his loss, the team's impressive win over Bayern in the second leg in Russia came with three players sidelined due to suspension.

Striker Andrei Arshavin and midfielders Radek Sirl and Fernando Ricksen return for the final at City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England against the top defensive team in the tournament.

Rangers, which was initially in the Champions League but dropped into the UEFA Cup after finishing third in its group, have allowed just two goals in eight UEFA Cup games.

The Scottish club didn't allow a goal to Fiorentina in the semifinals but also didn't score and needed penalty kicks to advance. In the quarters, Rangers was able to shutout Sporting Lisbon twice to advance on aggregate, 2-0.

In the round of 16, Rangers won the first leg 2-0 and held on after allowing a goal in the second leg for a 2-1 aggregate victory. Rangers narrowly escaped the round of 32, playing a 0-0 tie against Panathinaikos before scoring on the road in a 1-1 tie to advance on away goals.

Rangers' defense will face its toughest task yet against Zenit, which rolled to wins over Germany's Bayer Leverkusen in the quarterfinals and Bayern in the semifinals.

Zenit has been the most dangerous offensive team in the event. Even without Pogrenbnyak, the Russians precision-run, counter-attack offense will give the Scottish club all they can handle.

Smith considers Zenit the favorite, but Advocaat knows how good Rangers is and doesn't consider the final a lock. In addition to the UEFA Cup, Rangers is in the running for the Scottish Premier League title and the League Cup. The club already captured the Scottish Cup.

"You cannot come to the final of the UEFA Cup, the League Cup, the Scottish Cup and hopefully become champions too, without being a balanced team who can play football," Advocaat said.

"Don't try and make Rangers worse than they are."

The last time Rangers was in a European final was in 1972 when the team beat Dynamo Moscow 3-2 at the Nou Camp in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.

Zenit narrowly advanced past the group stage by finishing third - three teams in each group advance to the knockout round - and is searching for its first title in its first-ever European event.