RANGERS begin their quest to qualify for this season’s Champion League when they play Dynamo Kiev at the Arena Lublin in Poland on Tuesday night.
The Light Blues negotiated their third round qualifier with Swiss outfit Servette last summer before being ruthlessly put to the sword by PSV in the play-off round.
Philippe Clement will be hoping he can go one better than predecessor Michael Beale by leading Rangers into the new look league phase of the Champions League, though the Belgian could have his work cut out given that his squad still seems rather disjointed and low on confidence.
That was plain to see in Rangers’ Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser at the weekend, as they suffered an early season setback with a 0-0 draw away at Hearts.
As for Dynamo Kiev, they find themselves in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League after placing second in last season’s Ukrainian top-flight.
The Blue and Whites stormed through to the third round of the Champions League qualifiers after powering past Partizan Belgrade with a 9-2 aggregate win last midweek.
How the bookies view it: Kiev to claim first-leg advantage
Dynamo Kiev are 13/10 favourites on Bet 365 to draw first blood and take a first leg lead to Glasgow for next week’s return match. Given that Rangers looked bereft of confidence and ideas throughout pre-season and at Tynecastle on Saturday, the Ukrainian heavyweights hold plenty of appeal at the prices.
Rangers are 2/1 outsiders on Bet 365 to triumph, while an all square affair at the Arena Lublin can be backed at 12/5 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: Rangers hoping for a repeat
The two teams battled it out over two legs in the 1987-88 European Cup first round. Rangers lost the first leg 1-0 before claiming top honours with a 2-1 win at Ibrox, with club legend Ally McCoist’s goal proving decisive.
Players to watch: Vanat to run over Rangers?
Vladyslav Vanat fired in 14 goals and provided 10 assists in the Ukrainian Premier League last season. The 22-year-old netted in Dynamo Kiev’s first leg success against Partizan Belgrade and he looks a prime candidate to strike on Tuesday night.
As was the case so often last season, Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers missed several gilt-edged chances against Hearts on Saturday. Gers boss Clement will be hoping the Nigerian forward can rediscover his scoring touch in Lublin this midweek.
Predicted line-ups
Following last week's 6-2 demolition job agaisnt Partizan Belgrade, Dynamo boss Oleksandr Shovkovskyi is expected to name an unchanged starting XI on Tuesday night.
New recruit Robin Propper could be handed his Rangers debut in Poland on Tuesday night. The Dutch defender has been drafted in to replace the now departed Connor Goldson. Oscar Cortes hobbled off during Rangers’ stalemate with Hearts on Saturday and looks set to miss out here.
Dynamo Kiev: Buschan; Karavaev, Dyachuk, Popov, Vivcharenko; Brazhko, Shaparenko; Voloshyn, Buyalsky, Kabaev; Vanat
Rangers: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Yilmaz; Diomande, Barron; Cerny, Lawrence, Wright; Dessers
Anything else catch the eye?
Dynamo Kiev can be backed at an eye-catching even-money on Bet 365 to score two or more goals on Tuesday night.
After plundering nine goals across their two games with Partizan Belgrade, confidence will be high in the Blue and Whites camp.
While Rangers kept a clean sheet against Hearts on Saturday, they rode their luck at times and could quite easily have shipped multiple goals on another day.
On top of this, the Teddy Bears tend to find clean sheets hard to come by on their continental travels, making Kiev an appealing prospect to strike twice at evens.
This UEFA Champions League match between Dynamo Kiev and Rangers will be played on Aug 6, 2024 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Dynamo Kiev vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
