Legia Warsaw V Rangers
Thursday 22nd August 2019 – 19:00 Kick-Off
UEFA Europa League
Pick: Rangers to WIN
Odds: 7/5
Bookmaker: BetVictor
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43/20 | 21/10 | 5/4 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 20th August 2019 at 17:25)
Preview: A second successive appearance in the group stage of the Europa League awaits Scottish side Rangers should they see off Poland’s Legia Warsaw. The latter will, of course, have other ideas and will do their utmost to seize on home advantage in this opening leg. The venue: Polish Army Stadium, in the Polish capital of Warsaw.
UEFA Europa League Betting with 22Bet
Legia Warsaw Preview – Limited hosts seeking another low-scoring outcome?
Based in the capital city of Poland, Legia Warsaw are among the most successful clubs in the country and have been crowned league champions on thirteen occasions. Last season, however, the team were only good enough for second place in the Polish Ekstraklasa, thus ending a three-year spell of dominance enjoyed by the club. In Europe, meanwhile, their record is far less impressive.
It wasn’t that long ago Legia Warsaw were competing in the group stages of the Champions League, last doing so in 2016-17. Since then, though, the club has found life extremely tough going on the continent, to such an extent that prior to this season they had failed to win four of their previous six match-ups in Europe over two legs. That they have been flawless so far this season is mainly due to the level of opposition faced.
To reach this stage, the Polish side have needed to negotiate three rounds. To do so without conceding a single goal is fairly remarkable for a team possessing such an unconvincing recent record in European contests, even if the teams they beat – Europa FC (3-0 on aggregate), KUPS (1-0) and Atromitos (2-0) – are not exactly household names.
Best Legia Warsaw Bet: 0-0 Correct Score @ 13/2 Bet365? Interestingly, each of those earlier ties in the competition featured at least one 0-0 draw. More often than not it was in the away encounter, but the last round did produce a goalless scoreline at home to Greek side Atromitos. Furthermore, Legia had drawn three matches in a row 0-0 at the beginning of the month (KUPS away, Slask at home in the league, followed by Atromitos at home).
Rangers Preview – Gers to blast their way to another away victory?
The momentum is definitely building in the blue half of Glasgow. The league table in the Scottish Premier League has them second but level on points with fierce rivals Celtic, yet it is in Europe where Rangers have truly excelled so far. Sure, earlier match-ups with Gibraltar FC and Progres Niedercorn always looked more like warm up games than competitive fixtures but to emphatically dispatch of a decent Midtjylland side in the last round shows how serious this competition is to them.
What appeared a tricky tie on paper, to me at least, with last season’s runners-up in Denmark was made to look an absolute doddle by Steven Gerrard and his clearly inspired Rangers side. Wrapping up progress with four goals to spare is one thing (winning 7-3 on aggregate) but the performance out in Midtjylland in particular really did showcase just how far this team has come under the former Liverpool midfielder.
The Gers have now racked up 19 goals in their six matches in Europe this season, which is some effort despite the main bulk of those (10) coming against poor opposition in the first round. Throw in a recent 6-1 league win over Hibernian and a 3-0 victory at East Fife in the cup and we are looking at a group of players who know where the goals is. Which bodes well ahead of an awkward tie against an opponent with a very lean defensive record until now.
Best Rangers Bet: Rangers Win to NIL @ 13/5 Bet365? Although Gerrard’s men couldn’t keep a clean sheet against Danish side Midtjylland in the last round, prior to that it was four successive clean sheets in Europe. This is also a team which kept three clean sheets in four away outings in last season’s Europa League qualifying rounds.
Legia Warsaw V Rangers Key Facts:
- Legia Warsaw have negotiated three rounds in this competition already, doing so without conceding a single goal.
- Rangers have also come through three rounds unscathed, scoring 19 goals in the procees whilst conceding just three.
- Previous Round: Legia Warsaw overcame Atromitos 2-0 on aggregate but only drew 0-0 at home. Rangers thrashed Midtjylland 7-3 on aggregate and won 4-2 away.
Betting Summary
Immaculate so far, not even conceding a goal en route to this stage. Legia Warsaw have seemingly made light work of their opponents until now, overcoming Europa FC, KUPS and Atromitos. This, however, will be by far and away their stiffest test yet, against a team in a rich vein of scoring form. Legia, meanwhile, have scored one goal or fewer in six of their eight competitive matches in 2019/20 and have made a stuttering start in the league (W2 D1 L1).
There is plenty of positive, winning momentum behind Rangers, who have now won their past five matches in a row by an aggregate score of 18-5. None of Gibraltar FC, Progres Niedercorn or Midtjylland could trouble them over two legs in the previous rounds, with a 4-2 victory in Denmark over the latter standing out in particular. A similar performance in Poland would make their current match odds outstanding value.
Even though Rangers have been explosive at times this season, they have also shown a capacity to ground out a result when needed to. This could be one of those occasions, facing an opponent with a proven track record for keeping things tight and the scoring down. My initial inclination was to back Under 2.5 Goals but with that being a little short, I shall keep faith with the winning momentum of the Scottish side.
