RANGERS resume their Europa League campaign on Thursday night with a last-32 first leg clash against Royal Antwerp in Belgium.
Steven Gerrard's side are firmly in the driving seat to end a decade-long wait to lift the Scottish Premiership title and the Ibrox side continue to impress on the continent under the Liverpool legend's stewardship.
The Teddy Bears topped Group D in the Europa League ahead of Benfica to reach the knockout rounds for the second successive season.
Rangers reward for finishing as the No 1 seed in their section is a last-32 bout with Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp.
Antwerp finished second in Group J, in a section that included Jose Mourinho's Spurs, and it's worth noting that the Belgian outfit beat Tottenham at the Bosuilstadion.
Closer to home Franky Vercauteren's team sit second in the table where they trail Club Brugge by 13 points and the hosts head into this tie off the back of a 1-1 draw at Standard Liege.
Outright Betting
Antwerp won 4/6 Group matches but the hosts are the unfancied underdogs here at 12/5 with UniBet and the stalemate is 13/5 with the same firm.
Rangers have avoided defeat in each of their last nine Europa League outings and a Teddy Bears triumph is trading at even-money (1/1) with TonyBet
Betting Angles
Rangers are having a season to remember and that can be attributed to their remarkable clean sheet record – the Scottish Premiership pacesetters have racked up a staggering 31 shutouts across 40 matches in all competitions so far.
Three of those lean defensive displays that the Ibrox faithful have become accustomed to were chalked up during the Group Stages of this competition and another Rangers win to nil here will attract plenty of attention at 3/1 with Bet 365.
Indeed, that price makes appeal, but instead I'm going to head to Bet 365's Bet Builder market and combine Rangers double chance, under four match goals and over zero Antwerp cards, a 5/6 shot.
Taking this approach would have banked profit in 3/6 Rangers' group stage outings and I'm more than happy to support the same formula on Thursday night.
What's more, the battle-hardened Light Blues have won an eye-watering 31 of their last 36 matches in all competitions and that record coupled with Rangers excellent European showings only adds to the appeal of siding with the above-mentioned combination
In order to boost the Bet Builder price I'll throw in at least one booking for the Belgian's who are averaging almost two cards per game domestically, not to mention Antwerp collected two or more cards in 5/6 Group J outings.
I'll also dip into the anytime goalscorer market and take the 6/4 on offer with BetVictor for Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos to get on the scoresheet.
The much-maligned Columbian tends to thrive on the European stage – Morelos broke Ally McCoist's European scoring record for Rangers earlier this season – and I fancy the returning Rangers forward to make the net ripple when faced with an Antwerp rearguard who have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven matches.
This UEFA Europa League match between Antwerp and Rangers will be played on Feb 18, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Antwerp vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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