Danny Rohl takes charge of Rangers for the first time on Thursday evening as they travel to Bergen to take on Brann in the Europa League.
After a long-drawn process in which it looked like their top two targets turned them down, Rangers finally appointed Russell Martin’s successor on Monday, with Danny Rohl taking the role.
His first game is in the Europa League, where The Gers have already suffered a couple of disappointing defeats at home to Genk and away at Sturm Graz in their opening two matches, with that defeat in Austria seeing both of my selections land.
Brann began their Europa League campaign with a spirited display at Lille, but goals from Olivier Giroud and ex-Ger Hamza Igamane saw them fall to a 2-1 defeat.
However, Freyr Alexandersson’s men got their first points of the campaign on MD2, claiming a 1-0 victory over Dutch side Utrecht.
The Bergen outfit sit in third position with just six games to go in the Eliteserien, but their title hopes appear slim, sitting six points behind second-placed Bodo/Glimt and seven behind Viking, albeit they have a game in hand on the leaders.
How the bookies view it: Brann favourites
Brann are favourites to back up their victory over Utrecht last time out, with BoyleSports pricing a home success at 1/1.
Rangers are 21/10 with the same firm to claim their first away win in Europe at the fifth time of asking this season, whilst the draw is 12/5.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Thursday night will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Gassman to grab another European goal?
Djeidi Gassama has saved his best performances for Rangers in Europe this season, scoring five goals in his eight continental appearances for The Teddy Bears, including a stunning strike in Graz last time out.
The ex-Sheffield Wednesday winger also set up Rangers’ opener against Dundee United at the weekend, and the 13/8 on offer at Bet365 for him to Score or Assist is too big for me here.
Predicted line-ups:
Brann are without top-scorer Saevar Alti Magnusson for the rest of the season due to injury, whilst Felix Horn Myhre, Jonas Torsvik and Niklas Castro will also likely be missing.
Mohammed Diomande is available again after missing the Graz defeat through suspension, but defender Dujon Sterling is still missing.
Brann: Dyngeland, De Roeve, Knudsen, Helland, Soltvedt, Sorensen, Kornvig, Gudmundsson, Mathisen, Holm, Finne
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma, Raskin, Barron, Antman, Aasgaard, Gassama, Miovski
Anything else catch the eye?
If Martin was still in charge of Rangers, then the obvious pick would be a home win given Brann’s strong home record and Rangers’ poor results away from home, particularly in Europe, this season.
But with a potential new manager bounce for The Teddy Bears, I’m happy to swerve the match result and focus on corners.
The Gers’ opening eight away matches in all competitions this season have averaged 11.75 corners per game, with Over 10.5 Corners banking in six (75%) of them.
Brann’s 16 home matches in all competitions this season have averaged 11.56 corners per game, with Over 10.5 Corners landing in 11 (69%) of them, and the 10/11 for a repeat at BoyleSports appeals to me here.
GambleAware