It’s an important night for Scottish teams in Europe with Rangers taking a 3-1 lead to Maribor and Hibs locked at 0-0 away to Molde. Betfair football writer Frankie Monkhouse looks at their chances…
“An away win at [3.15] (Betfair Exchange) is a big ask but they should be able to keep the scores down”
Molde to finish the job at home
Molde v Hibs
Thursday 16th August, 6.00pm
Hibs surprised a few and gave themselves real hope of landing a place in the next round by holding favourites Molde to a draw at Easter Road last week, but they are expected to pay the price for failing to score in front of their own fans.
The Edinburgh club, led by Neil Lennon who boasts Champions League experience at Celtic, battled to a 0-0 at Easter Road in what turned out to be a cagey affair. That suited Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s MFK perfectly and they’ll fancy themselves good enough to win the home tie and get through, but Lennon will remind his troops they have nothing to lose. Win this game, whether it’s 1-0 on the night or 5-4, and they’ll progress.
Punters don’t fancy the chances of the visitors much and they are being pushed at [4.5] on the Exchange against the [1.73] on Molde. We didn’t see the best of the Norwegians seven days ago, they were happy to sit tight and saw the value in a draw. It’s a winner takes all tie, but a better performance is expected.
Molde -1 on the handicap at 23/10 – market best price on the Sportsbook – looks too good to ignore. If the locals score early, it’ll force Hibs into action.
The feel-good factor back at Rangers
Maribor v Rangers
Thursday 16th August, 7.15pm
Steven Gerrard has made an instant impact at Glasgow Rangers. The former Liverpool midfielder moved quickly to improve both the playing staff and backroom team and fans are beginning to see the benefits.
The Bears are undefeated in all competitions, even securing a couple of high-scoring friendly wins over English opposition, sit above Celtic in the Scottish Premiership with four points and travel to Slovenia on the cusp of knocking Maribor out of the Europa League and taking a giant stride towards reaching the competition proper.
First leg goals at Ibrox from Morelos, Tavernier and Coulibaly handed the Scots a 3-1 aggregate lead and the goal they conceded was a piece of magic from Viler who caught a volley sweet just before half-time. No blame could be laid on the defenders for that.
The backline of Tavernier, Goldson, Katic and Flanigan have been impressive and they are organised enough and confident enough to help get Gerrard’s crew over the line. An away win at [3.15] (Betfair Exchange) is a big ask but they should be able to keep the scores down. Back under 2.5 goals at 8/13 on the Sportsbook or no both teams to score at 4/5.
Source: Betfair Europa League
