Rangers enjoy home advantage for this Round of 16 match and it promises to be another electric night at Ibrox. Betfair’s Frankie Monkhouse previews…
“Rangers’ last two matches have ended in 1-0 wins.”
Rangers v Red Star
Thursday, 20:00
Live on BT Sport
Rangers’ reward
Glasgow Rangers get their reward for eliminating Europa League favourites Borussia Dortmund with a two-legged Round of 16 match against Red Star Belgrade. The pair open at Ibrox Park on Thursday evening, where the locals will be looking to make their home advantage count, taking an aggregate lead to Belgrade next week.
The Gers support know they have already beaten the best team in the competition and understand the draw could have been more problematic. Rangers have avoided the likes of West Ham, Monaco and Galatasaray but face a well-drilled opponent in Red Star who are good enough to give their hosts a tough night’s work.
Late goal denies Dons
Rangers enter Thursday’s match on the back of an important home win, beating Aberdeen 1-0 on Saturday. That was a slog for the champions, but a late strike from substitute Kemar Roofe ensured the three points, keeping pressure on current league leaders Celtic. Giovanni van Bronkhorst’s men remain unbeaten in all competitions since losing 3-0 at Celtic Park last month.
The home team have played two games this month and recorded a pair of wins. Both matches ended in a 1-0 win thanks to an early goal from Glen Kamara against St Johnstone and that late strike from Roofe at the weekend. GvB is likely to bring in defender Leon Balogun and push Calvin Bassey out wide to help his defence find consistency while retaining an attacking threat.
Belgrade back in business
After a successful group campaign, Serbian SuperLiga champions Red Star Belgrade re-join the Europa League. Winning Group F ahead of Sporting Braga, FC Midtjylland and Ludogorets Razgrad meant they sat the previous round out, moving straight to the Round of 16. Will that bring a freshness to their play, or will the visitors arrive off the pace and lack sharpness at this level?
Dejan Stankovic’s men were in action on Sunday when hosting Novi Pazar, meaning their opponents enjoyed an extra 24 hours recovery. Still, confidence is high in the away dressing room with Red Star enjoying an impressive winning run, challenging derby rivals Partizan Belgrade for the top spot. Both Red Star and Partizan have claims on the title, and Red Star may view this competition as a distraction.
Home win favourites
On the back of that world-famous 6-4 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund in the previous round, Rangers are favourites to win this game and the tie. Any joy the Scots have will stem from a strong performance in Glasgow.
The match betting odds available on the Betfair Exchange has Rangers at 1.794/5 for a first-leg win, and that’s how we approach this match. Red Star Belgrade can be backed at 5.14/1 for an away win with the draw a 3.711/4 shot.
Rangers’ last two matches have ended in 1-0 wins. They’ve scored one goal in three of their last four games and kept a clean sheet in four of their last six. Keeping those stats in mind, we note Rangers and Red Star have played seven times previously, and at least one team failed to find the net in three of the last four.
That gives us reason to expect another tight match with under 2.5 goals picked out at 1.9110/11 despite that free-scoring win over Dortmund. Over 2.5 goals trades at 21/1. Back Rangers to win or aim higher and take the Bears to win to nil at 2.757/4 on the Sportsbook.
Source: Betfair Europa League
