RANGERS will look to bounce back from their thrashing at home to Lyon on Matchday 2 as they welcome Romanian champions FCSB to Ibrox on Thursday night.
Phillipe Clement’s men began their Europa League campaign with an excellent win in Sweden over champions Malmo, but were guilty of missing a couple of clear-cut chances and being defensively wide-open in their 1-4 defeat at home to Lyon last time out.
Domestically, The Gers failed to take advantage of both Aberdeen and Celtic dropping points in their 2-2 draw on Saturday, as they fell to a late 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock in what was a truly shocking performance.
Meanwhile, FCSB have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign, as they followed up their 4-1 victory at home to RFS by going to Greece and claiming an even more impressive 0-1 win against PAOK.
After winning just one of their opening six Romanian Liga I fixtures this season (W1-D2-L3), Elias Charalambous’s visitors are now unbeaten in each of their next six (W4-D2-L0) claiming a 0-2 victory away at city-rivals Dinamo Bucuresti at the weekend to move them into sixth position, seven points behind leaders Universitatea Cluj – albeit with a game in hand.
How the bookies view it: Gers unconvincing favourites
Rangers head into this clash as short-priced favourites, with the likes of Bet365 offering odds of 4/9 for them to return to winnings ways.
FCSB are unfancied at 6/1 to maintain their 100% record in the Europa League, whilst a draw is priced at 15/4 at Bet365.
Head to head: Mixed record against Romanian sides for Gers
Rangers have an overall record of W2-D2-L3 record against Romanian sides, with their last meetings coming against Dan Petrescu’s Unirea Urzicebi in the 2009/10 Champions League group stage in which they fell to a shock 1-4 defeat at home and a 1-1 draw away.
Players to watch: Birligea to bag again?
FCSB’s Daniel Birligea has been in fine form for the Romania champions, with the ex-CFR Cluj striker netting in four of his last five appearances, including in both Europa League league phase matches.
Tom Lawrence has netted in three of Rangers past five home matches at both Hampden and Ibrox, including their solitary goal against Lyon in their previous Europa League encounter.
Probable line-ups
Centre-back Robin Pröpper limped off for Rangers at Rugby Park on Sunday and will likely be replaced by Leon Balogun – Cortes, Matondo and Yilmaz remain out.
FCSB’s owner hinted they’d play a weakened squad at Ibrox to help improve domestic form, but who knows how much truth is in that. Captain Darius Olaru will definitely be out due to suspension.
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte, Barron, Lawrence, Diomande, Bajrami, Cerny, Dessers
FCSB: Tarnovanu, Pantea, Chiriches, Dawa, Radunovic, Edjouma, Alhassan, Stefanescu, Phelipe, Miculescu, Birligea
Anything else catch the eye?”
Rangers will view this match as a must-win match if they hope to avoid an early elimination from the newly formed league phase of the Europa League – and despite a strong Europa League record at Ibrox over recent seasons – you simply can’t trust them at such a short price after viewing their previous performances.
Creating chances and scoring goals has been a real issue for The Teddy Bears this season, and backing against goals is probably the best way to go at Ibrox on Thursday.
Under 2.5 Goals has paid out in four of Rangers’ previous five matches in all competitions – and given the same has landed in six of FCSB’s past eight European contests, including their last four on the road – I’m happy to have a play on a low-scoring encounter.
This UEFA Europa League match between Rangers and FCSB will be played on Oct 24, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs FCSB prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
