RANGERS will be hoping a bouncing Ibrox helps them bundle Benfica out of the Europa League and take them through to the quarter finals.
Philippe Clement's men returned from Portugal after the first leg with a battling 2-2 draw where they twice took the lead in Lisbon. They soaked up plenty of pressure, but saw the draw out fairly comfortably in the end.
The Ibrox side have been hit with a number of injuries though – Ryan Jack, Todd Cantwell, Danilo, Alex Lowry, Ross McCausland, Scott Wright, Oscar Cortes, Dujon Sterling, Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell are all out or very doubtful.
However, it's a sign of the strength of the Rangers squad that they were still able to win a potentially tricky Scottish Cup quarter final tie at Hibs, although they were considerably aided when the hosts went down to nine men.
It's not a happy camp at Benfica at the moment after a Portuguese Cup defeat to rivals Sporting Lisbon was followed up by a shocking 5-0 pummeling from Porto ahead of the first leg.
They did at least get back to winning ways at the weekend against Estoril and under-pressure boss Roger Schmidt was able to rest three of his key men – Joao Neves, Rafa Silva and Angel Di María.
How the bookies view it
Rangers are outsiders at Ibrox, which is unusual. They can be backed at 17/10 with BoyleSports.
Benfica are 6/4 favourites with Betfred and the draw is 11/5 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The sides have met three times including that game is the Estadio Da Luz last week and all have finished in draws. A pair of 2-2 draws and a 3-3 stalemate too four years ago.
Players to watch
James Tavernier did what James Tavernier does at Hibs by converting a penalty and it's far from impossible Rangers could win another one too on Thursday. The captain and full back is 10/3 to score anytime with bet365.
Rafa Silva is a real dangerman for Benfica and, as stated, he will come into this fully rested after being allowed to sit out their weekend win. He is 13/5 to score anytime with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Despite Rangers' injury list and Benfica having a squad valued far higher than their hosts, it's well worth backing Rangers to win here.
They have an outstanding home record in this competition – having lost just once in their last 11 matches at Ibrox in the Europa League. Ibrox will be turned up to maximum volume and there are doubts about Benfica on the road – as they demonstrated at Sporting Lisbon and Porto.
Rangers will pile forward here in waves of attacks and they tend to rake up the corners, especially at home – they've won 39 in their last three home games!
It's evens with bet365 for Rangers to get six or more and that's a solid investment.
This UEFA Europa League match between Rangers and Benfica will be played on Mar 14, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Benfica prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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