Rangers v Osijek Betting Preview – UEFA Europa League 2nd August 7.45pm
Rangers have a lead in this tie, albeit a narrow 1-0 lead. They went to Croatia last week for a tough first leg against NK Osijek who had plenty of backers on their side because of form and a good history in Europa League qualifying. But it was Rangers who held out with an industrious display and need to close out the deal this week back at Ibrox.
Rangers News and Form
The Gers are up in the tie thanks to a good 1-0 away win in Croatia in the first leg. Alfredo Morelos got the only goal of the game just before the 20 minutes mark. That was enough for Rangers to get back to home soil with a positive advantage after what was not an easy away trip. New boss Steven Gerrard has clearly been working on getting the defensive balance and set up right and that has shown so far. That’s three games and no goals conceded in the Europa League qualification campaign so far.
They just need to sort out how to get a few more goals on the board though as that is just three in three so far. There hasn’t been much of an attacking threat from them but Rangers to win to nil is at 2/1 odds for this return leg* (Betting Odds were taken from July 28th, 2018 at 10:43 p.m.). We are expecting another tight affair in this clash at Ibrox because at this point it just about getting through one step at a time. Between the sticks, in the first leg, Allan McGregor had very little to do. That was the first road win in Europe for Rangers since 2008 when they took a win over Sporting Lisbon. There is going to be more game management needed for them.
Osijek News and Form
Osijek have a good pedigree in Europa League qualification but they were surprisingly quiet in that first leg, but maybe that was down to the efforts of Rangers. Of course, the Croatians did have some chances but they were just wasteful when they did come their way. In the previous round, Osijek took a 3-2 aggregate win over Hinchesti, taking a 1-1 draw on the road in that one. So we are looking under 2.5 goals at 13/20 odds* (Betting Odds were taken from July 28th, 2018 at 10:43 p.m.) as our prediction for this contest.
Now they have their backs against the wall on the road and have to produce a couple of goals over the 90 minutes to progress. An away goal for them could really heap some pressure back onto Rangers though and the Croatians will know Rangers aren’t the most prolific side in front of goal. The game plan for the visitors will probably be to ensure that they don’t concede in early in the tie and then start pressing forward. Osijek made it all the way through to the playoff round in last season’s qualifiers and hold a W7 D1 L3 record in their last eleven Europa league games, conceding just one goal in those seven wins.
Rangers v Osijek Head to Head
The winner of this time will move forward to the Third Qualifying round of the Europa League to play either Maribor or Georgian outfit Chikhura Sachkhere. The first leg between Rangers and Osijek was the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
Rangers v Osijek Betting Odds*
Rangers 19/20
Draw 12/5
Osijek 29/10
* (Betting Odds were taken from July 28th, 2018 at 10:43 p.m.)
Rangers v Osijek Predictions
Rangers have a good foothold in this tie and with the home support behind them can close out the deal. We are expecting another tight tussle between the two sides but Rangers were relatively untroubled at the back in the first leg so we are backing the Gers to win by a one-goal margin.
