RANGERS bring the curtain down on their first season back in the Champions League with a home match against Ajax at Ibrox on Tuesday night.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team have endured a baptism of fire upon their return to Europe's top table, after a string of underwhelming performances and heavy defeats, the most recent of which was a 3-0 loss at Napoli, in a game that brought up both of my bets.
That means Rangers remain rock-bottom of Group A without even a point to show for their efforts, meaning that they come into this game with the likelihood of nothing other than pride to play for.
That being said, the Teddy Bears produced a timely win for their under-fire manager after dishing out a 4-1 drubbing to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
As for Ajax, they look set to parachute into the Europa League after suffering a 3-0 defeat against Liverpool in Amsterdam last Wednesday night.
The Eredivisie leaders will arrive in Glasgow fully-rested after being afforded the weekend off from domestic duty by the Dutch FA.
Outright Betting
As already mentioned, Rangers have yet to chalk up a point in their group so far and the bookies' odds suggest that dire sequence will reach the dreaded six, with a home win trading at 11/4 (Boylesports) while a point apiece pays 3/1 (Bet 365).
Ajax's only Group A victory to date was obtained courtesy of September's revere fixture and the same outcome here can be backed at 17/20 with Bet 365.
Betting Angles
Ajax are fair favourites here but I'm going to side with an alternative angle of attack via the Bet Builder feature by throwing together Ajax Double Chance and Over One Ajax Goal at 4/5 (Bet 365).
While Rangers have repeatedly demonstrated in recent seasons that Ibrox is one of Europe’s most famous and revered arenas, it would be fair to say that the Light Blues have looked out of their depth at this level.
That can be attributed to the fact that van Bronckhorst’s brittle backline has been breached a whopping 19 times across their opening five Group A assignments
Not only have Rangers been shipping strikes at an alarming rate on the European stage, they have also conceded goals in three of their last four Scottish Premiership matches.
Although Ajax have just a solitary success to their name in this section so far, they did notch twice in Naples and grabbed a goal against Liverpool at Anfield, not to mention they hit Rangers for four on Matchday One.
With that in mind, coupled with the fact the above-mentioned Bet Builder would have paid out in Rangers' previous five pool fixtures, supporting the same combination on Tuesday night looks worth taking on at 4/5 (Bet 365).
After getting on the scoresheet when the pair met in Amsterdam back in September, I'll also back Steven Bergwijn to repeat the trick on Tuesday night at 3/1 with Bet 365.
The Dutch forward has struck nine times across 16 appearances in all competitions for Ajax this season so he looks worthy of some interest to add to that tally against a fragile Rangers team who look set to be without a number of key men this midweek.
This UEFA Champions League match between Rangers and Ajax will be played on Nov 1, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Ajax prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
