Rangers welcome Czech side KF Jablonec to Ibrox on Thursday night in the first leg of their Conference League playoff tie.
Rangers’ disastrous start to the season continued last Thursday night, as they were eliminated from the Europa League by Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok 3-2 on aggregate.
Lawrence Shankland had given the Teddy Bears the lead on the night and levelled the tie from the spot in the first half, but ex-Oxford United striker Nik Prelec headed home halfway through the second half to send the Poles through – and land me a 4/5 winner.
That draw extended their winless start to the season to four games, but Derek McInnes did finally get his first win as Rangers boss on Sunday afternoon, as they thrashed St Mirren 5-1 at Ibrox in the last-16 of the Scottish League Cup – on an afternoon I landed a 10/11 winner – setting up a mouthwatering tie with bitter-rivals Celtic at Ibrox next month.
After entering the Conference League second qualifying round courtesy of a fifth-placed finish in the Czech First League last term, Jablonec have already successfully navigated themselves through a couple of ties.
Lubas Kozel’s visitors squeezed past Croatian side NK Varazdin 4-3 on aggregate despite losing the first leg 3-2 away from home, before defeating Latvian side RFS 4-1 on aggregate in the previous round.
The Czech outfit have also had a strong start to their league campaign this season, having won each of their opening three matches in the Czech top flight.
How the bookies view it: Gers favourites
Rangers are favourites to take a lead over to Czechia next week, with bet365 pricing the Glasgow giants at just 2/5.
Jablonec are 11/2 outsiders to leave Govan with a victory, whilst the draw is 10/3.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Thursday night’s clash at Ibrox will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Penrice to follow up his impressive debut
James Penrice had a dream debut for Rangers on Sunday following his switch from Greek club AEK Athens, as he got an assist for Djedi Gassama’s goal, before going on to put the Teddy Bears 4-1 ahead.
The ex-Hearts fullback could be worth consideration for a goal contribution on Thursday night, but as of yet, there are no goal-scorer markets available.
Predicted line-ups:
Rangers: Pandur, Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice, Dragojevic, Raskin, Yokota, Gassama, Shankland, Naderi
KF Jablonec: Hanus, Chanturishvili, Cedidla, Tekijaski, Pavlovic, Slama, Sedlacek, Nebyla, Zorvan, Jaro, Polidar
Anything else catch the eye?
Derek McInnes finally got his first win as Rangers boss on Sunday thanks to an emphatic 5-1 victory over St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup, but they still conceded and also relied on goalkeeper Ivor Pandur saving a penalty with the score at 4-1.
Both Teams to Score has now landed in each of Rangers’ last 13 matches in all competitions, and the 1/1 on offer at bet365 certainly appeals.
What’s more, both of Jablonec’s continental clashes away from home this season have produced eight goals, with Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals landing on each occasion.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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