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Glasgow Rangers will return to European action after 6 difficult years, and their first test will be at home against Luxembourgese side Progres Niederkorn, in the Europa League 1st qualifying round.
Rangers had a good year in their first season back in the Scottish Premiership, finishing 3rd in 2016 / 2017. Although they ended up 40 points behind rivals Celtic, Rangers put on a good run and they were never in danger of finishing outside the Top 3 (mostly due to their excellent play at home). This season Rangers has growing ambitions, having made a number of top signings, most notable Portugese international Bruno Alves – though he will not play in this match.
Progres Niederkorn have played just once in Europe in the last 35 years, when they lost 0-3 aggregate to Shamrock Rovers in the 2015 / 2016 season. The visitors qualifierd to the Europa League this year by finishing 4th in their domestic league, but they were pretty far away from challenging for a higher position. Niederkorn made some signings this summer and has few interesting players like Bouzid (ex Galatasaray), Watzka (former player in Germany`s 2nd and 3rd league) or Mario Musch (Luxembourgese legend, ex Sion).
Bet on Rangers vs. Niederkorn and get your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Team news: Rangers misses a number of players for various reasons, but they did call up what seems to be the best available squad for this match (many of the players left out are expected to be let go). Niederkorn will miss new signing and Luxembourg captain Mario Mutsch.
The visitors do have a handful of decent looking players, but the rest of the squad is mediocre even for Luxembourgese standards. The absence of Mario Mutsch, their best player, will hurt them a lot.
While Luxembourgese football has obviously improved, fact is that Niederkorn are not exactly a force in their domestic league. Niederkorn finished 4th last season, 12 points behind the 3rd place and more than 20 points behind the 1st place. They won only 50% of their matches in the Luxembourgese league and have no European experience. As such, they don`t look as dangerous as teams like Dudelange or Differdange.
These first round qualifying matches in Europa League can be tricky and must be approached cautiously, especially when backing teams which are far away from starting their domestic competitions. Rangers saw rivals Celtic losing 0-3 in Gibraltar last year.
That is the case for Rangers, who likely isn`t at the best level of training with the Premiership set to start on August 5. They also have new players and a new manager in Pedro Caixinha, so there will probably be some rust to shake off and playing relationships to build.
Nevertheless, Rangers surely prepared in advance for this clash, playing at home helps a lot, and this is a massive game for them. The stadium will be sold out and the hosts are expected to be highly motivated to produce a big display after so many years out of Europe. This is not your casual 1st round qualifying match, when you just want to get some rhythm back and score a 1-0 or 2-0 win.
While being aware of the dangers posed by training level, team chemistry and the progress of Luxembourgese clubs, I will back Rangers to win this by a large margin. I reckon all the possible dangers will be nulified by the sold out stadium, by Ranger’s hunger for European football, and by the fact that Niederkorn is not one of the best teams in Luxembourg – they are a rather mediocre side there, with no experience in Europe (which will count a lot in front of 50.000+ people).
I reckon Rangersshould have enough to put at least 3 goals past this Niederkorn side – even if they will not be at their best. Circumstances say they won`t stop when they are ahead, and will keep pushing for as many goals as possible. My tip is Rangers to cover the -3 asian handicap, I think it`ll be 4-0 or 5-0. Prediction: Glasgow Rangers – Progres Niederkorn 4-0.
Pick: Rangers (-3 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.70
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.60
Event date: 29 June
