Rangers begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday night as they welcome Belgian side Genk to Ibrox.
Rangers began their European campaign in the Champions League second round, where they saw off Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate, before knocking out Czech side Viktoria Plzen 4-2 in the next round.
However, The Teddy Bears failed to qualify for the Champions League proper, as they suffered a humiliating 9-1 aggregate defeat to Belgian Pro League runners-up Club Brugge, demoting them to the Europa League.
Under-pressure head coach Russell Martin has had a dismal start to the Premiership season, failing to win any of their opening five matches, but they did at least seal their place in the League Cup semi-finals on Saturday by defeating Hibernian 2-0 at Ibrox, despite me expecting them to struggle.
Similarly to their hosts, Genk have had an underwhelming start to their league campaign, as they currently sit in 14th position after having collected just eight points from their opening eight contests (W2-D2-L4).
However, Genk sealed their place in the league phase of the Europa League in emphatic fashion, defeating Lech Poznan 6-3 on aggregate in the playoff round, thanks largely to a 1-5 success in Poland in the first leg.
How the bookies view it: Gers slight favourites
Rangers come into this clash as slight favourites, with BoyleSports pricing Rangers at 5/4 to make a winning start to their Europa League campaign.
The same firm has Genk at 8/5 to follow in Club Brugge’s footsteps, whilst the draw is 12/5.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Thursday night will be the first occasion these two clubs have faced each other.
Players to watch: Nico looks overpriced
After being controversially left out of the squad against both Celtic and Hearts, Nicolas Raskin was back in the starting 11 against Hibernian at the weekend, and perhaps inevitably, scored the opening goal.
The Belgian international scored against fellow Pro League side Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League last season, and looks overpriced at 7/1 at BoyleSports to get on the scoresheet again on Thursday.
Predicted line-ups:
Rangers will still be without defender Dujon Sterling through injury, whilst Max Aarons is suspended.
Thorsten Fink will be missing Daan Heymans, Yira Sor and talented Greek youngster Konstantinos Karetsas due to injury.
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma, Raskin, Diomande, Antman, Aasgaard, Gassama, Miovski
Genk: Lawal, El Ouahdi, Sadick, Smets, Kayembe, Steuckers, Sattlberger, Heynen, Ito, Hrosovsky, Erabi
Anything else catch the eye?
Genk’s opening 10 competitive clashes this campaign have averaged 3.10 goals per game, with nine (90%) seeing goals at both ends, whilst seven (70%) have also seen Over 2.5 Goals land – including both legs against Lech Poznan in the playoff round.
Rangers’ six European contests this campaign have averaged 3.33 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in each of the last four, whilst three of the past five have produced goals at both ends, so I like the look of Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals, which pays 20/23 at BoyleSports.
The Teddy Bears scored twice against Hibs at the weekend – as well as in qualifiers at home against both Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen – and I also like the 20/21 on offer at BoyleSports for the hosts to strike at least twice against a Genk backline yet to record a clean sheet this season.
GambleAware