Rangers will look to seal their place in the Champions League playoff round as they travel to the Doosan Arena to take on Viktoria Plzen in the second leg of their third round Champions League qualifier.
Rangers have made a positive start to their European campaign, as they defeated Greek side Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate in the previous round.
Then, last Tuesday, they put in easily their best performance under Russell Martin, as a penalty from Cyriel Dessers and a brace from Djeidi Gassama gave Rangers a three-goal lead to take to Czechia on an evening where two of my selections landed.
However, it’s been a far more difficult start domestically for The Gers, as they followed up their 1-1 draw on the opening day of the campaign away at Motherwell by suffering an even more disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Dundee on Saturday.
Viktoria Plzen also come into this clash off the back of consecutive 1-1 draws domestically, as they conceded a 93rd-minute penalty to draw at home to Slovacko.
Miroslav Koubek’s men saw off Servette 3-2 on aggregate in the previous round, but suffered defeat in the home leg, losing 0-1.
How the bookies view it: Gers expected progress
Viktoria Plzen are favourites to win on the night, with BoyleSports pricing them up at just 8/11.
Rangers are 14/5 with the same form to add to their three-goal advantage, whilst the draw is 11/4.
Rangers are still expected to progress in the tie, with Bet365 having them as short as 1/10 to qualify.
Head to head: Second ever meeting
This is the second-ever meeting between these two clubs, with Rangers winning 3-0 in the reverse fixture last Tuesday.
Players to watch:
New signing Djeidi Gassama has already made an immediate impact for Rangers, as he scored in both legs against Panathinaikos. I flagged up the ex-Owls winger to score in the first leg (3/1) and he did so twice, and is an appealing 6/1 at Unibet to find the target again.
Ex-Burnley and Watford frontman Matej Vydra has already scored five goals across Plzen’s opening six competitive contests this campaign. One of those levelled up the tie with Servette in the last round, and is 7/4 at Unibet to score once again here.
Predicted line-ups:
Midfielder Adrian Zelkovic returns from suspension for Viktoria Plzen.
Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane have missed the last four matches, and the pair are expected to be missing again on Tuesday, whilst Mikey Moore is still not registered.
Viktoria Plzen: Wiegele, Dweh, Markovic, Jemelka, Zelkovic, Memic, Cerv, Spacil, Visinsky, Vydra, Durosinmi
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Djiga, Aarons, Rothwell, Diomande, Raskin, Antman, Gassama, Dessers
Anything else catch the eye?
With Plzen chasing the tie, this could lead to an open game, which could lead to goals.
Both Teams to Score has been a winning selection in 4/6 (67%) of the Czech’s competitive contests this season, whilst the same has landed in 3/4 (75%) of The Gers fixtures this term.
Both Teams to Score pays just 8/13 at BoyleSports, but adding in Over 2.5 Goals boosts the odds to 21/20, and that appeals here.
GambleAware