Europe is considered as favorite to win over United States in the 2014 Ryder Cup, but Rory McIlroy is not convinced that they will have an easy victory in Scotland.

McIlroy said in an interview that despite winning against USA in their past two Ryder Cup showdowns, European should manage their expectations in the upcoming tournament.

"If we can really just manage our expectations, because we're going to be big favorites going in, and everyone's going to assume that we are going to take another Ryder Cup," McIlroy said on Wednesday via ESPN.

McIlroy, who is the main reason why Europe is favored to win for the third consecutive year, insisted that their previous matches were closer than what most people are thinking where a win or a draw for USA could have changed the outcome of their showdowns.

"It's been tighter than people think," McIlroy said. "And I think it will be the exact same way this year. So we just have to manage our expectations and go out there and make sure we put a lot of points and a lot of blue on the board early and go from there. Get the crowd behind us."

Europe team captain Paul McGinley recently announced their roster, which includes his personal picks Stephen Gallacher, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

Westwood's selection raised eyebrows as most experts are expecting Luke Donald to make the squad, but McIlroy defended McGinley's decision, saying that their team captain went for a more experienced player.

"It was a flip of the coin between Luke and Lee," McIlroy said. "Each had attributes that the other didn't. Paul, at the end of the day, went for the experience and probably more of a talisman in the team room. What you would get with Luke is he's a great short-game player, he's going to hole putts for you when he needs to."

The 2014 Ryder Cup will run from Sept. 26 to 28 at Gleneagles, Scotland. The final rosters for both teams are listed below.

2014 US Ryder Cup Roster

  • Rickie Fowler
  • Jim Furyk
  • Zach Johnson
  • Matt Kuchar
  • Phil Mickelson
  • Patrick Reed
  • Jordan Spieth
  • Jimmy Walker
  • Bubba Watson
  • Keegan Bradley
  • Hunter Mahan
  • Webb Simpson

2014 Europe Ryder Cup Roster

  • Thomas Bjorn
  • Jamie Donaldson
  • Victor Dubuisson
  • Sergio Garcia
  • Martin Kaymer
  • Graeme McDowell
  • Rory McIlroy
  • Justin Rose
  • Henrik Stenson
  • Stephen Gallacher
  • Ian Poulter
  • Lee Westwood

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