FC Midtjylland v Rangers
Thursday, 19:00
Live on Rangers TV
Visitors travel with confidence
Rangers travel to Denmark where they’ll face Superliga runners up FC Midtjylland in the Europa League qualifying third round. A place in the play-offs to reach the group stages of the competition awaits, the winner of this match paired with Legia Warsaw or Atromitos. Steven Gerrard’s side still have it all to do, but they travel with confidence.
Eliminating The Wolves over two legs will be no mean feat but Rangers make this trip as betting favourites to qualify and punters expect the Scots to lay down a marker in the first leg. If they bring a lead back to Ibrox, the Gers will take all the shifting in front of a sell-out audience who are desperate for a repeat of last year’s Europa League heroics.
Focus on Sviatchenko
FC Midtjylland, managed by Kenneth Andersen, have won the Danish Superliga twice before, claiming glory in 2015 and 2018 but finished best of the rest during the 2018/19 campaign when ending a point behind champions Copenhagen. That effort dropped them into the third qualifying round of this competition, but they lack nothing in fitness, having played Aalborg in the league on Sunday.
The hosts kept their 100% record at the MCH Arena with a 1-0 victory, achieved thanks to a goal from da Silva Ferreira with 89 minutes on the clock. In an incident packed match, former Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko was sent off on 54 minutes for a second bookable offence. His blushes were spared thanks to that late winner.
It’ll be interesting to see how Sviatchenko reacts on the back of that when faced with the pressures that will be placed upon him by the Rangers support due to his connections with their bitter rivals. To have any chance of beating The Gers, Midtjylland must keep all players on the pitch and free of suspension.
Late goal ensures a winning start
Rangers got off to a winning start in the Scottish Premiership when securing a rare win at Rugby Park on Sunday, but they were made to work for the points. A match filled with drama, Gerrard’s boys took the lead through Scott Arfield inside 16 minutes, sparking wild celebrations amongst the visiting support. They then took their foot off the gas in the second period and paid the price when Stephen O’Donnell volleyed home an equaliser after his side had passed up a couple of great opportunities.
The pressure was then on Rangers to show they have improved over the summer months and they did just that, winning a match they would’ve surely taken a point from only last season. The light blues were beaten by Killie at this venue in the final game of the 2018/19 campaign but gained revenge, defender Connor Goldson bulleting home a header in stoppage time. Gerrard said it was the start he was looking for, but it was just a little too close for comfort for most fans.
Rangers should be sharper
Improvement is needed across the board if Rangers are to challenge Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title and we’ll also need to see a quick turnaround if they are to have any chance of securing a first leg victory at the home of Europa League rivals Midtjylland. The fact The Bears have played four qualifiers already means they should be that little bit sharper than their opponents and that will ensure they are popular in the match betting market.
The Betfair Exchange offers a competitive market with [2.6] available on the home win. That’s understandable but we expect to see more interest in the [2.94] available for Rangers. The visitors would surely see the value in a draw away from home, especially a scoring draw, and you can back the level finish at a chunky [3.25]. We certainly wouldn’t put any off that as it’s bigger than many expected to find.
Clean sheet is crucial to Gers’ chances
There’s plenty designed to hold the interest of punters who would much prefer to avoid the unpredictability of the match winner market here. Despite losing that goal at Rugby Park on Sunday, Rangers’ backline has been impressive so far this summer as Gerrard puts his faith in Goldson and Katic. They held on for a 0-0 at Progres in the previous round and haven’t conceded in the Europa League so far, scoring a dozen of their own at the other end.
Keeping the scores low at the MCH Arena will be the visitors’ number one priority on Thursday and they have the pace and talent in their attack to hit Midtjylland on the break. Keeping a clean sheet would do wonders for their chances of going through and that makes a bet on this match producing under 2.5 goals worthwhile at 13/20. There’s more sense in that bet than taking a chance on over 2.5 at 11/10. Tight, but it’ll do a job in your midweek accumulators.
Source: Betfair Europa League
