Rangers Face Uphill Battle to Progress
Despite losing the first leg of their qualifying encounter with Malmo 2-1, Rangers are 8/15 to win the reverse fixture at Ibrox but punters should not rush to back Steven Gerrard’s men.
The Scottish Premiership outfit only just managed to secure an away goal in the first match, netting in the 95th minute, and followed the defeat with a 1-0 loss to Dundee United in the league on Saturday.
They did, however, still have 14 shots on that occasion and the better bet for this game could be both teams to score at 10/11. That bet clicked in six of Rangers’ ten European affairs in 2020-21.
PSV Can Once Again Assert Their Superiority
While it remains to be seen whether or not Rangers will be in the next stage of Champions League qualifying, PSV have one foot in the playoffs following their 3-0 win over Midtjylland in the first leg.
The Eindhoven club already dispatched Galatasaray 7-2 on aggregate in the previous round and are fresh from a 4-0 win over a strong Ajax side in the Johan Cruyff Shield.
There is no need for PSV to attack the second leg but even a rotated team featuring the likes of Nick Viergever and Bruma could cause problems and should be too strong for their Danish counterparts, who edged past Celtic in the previous qualifying round. Back PSV at 21/20.
Monaco Midfielder Worth Monitoring
Monaco’s Ligue 1 campaign got off to a frustrating start with a 1-1 draw against Nantes but 21-year-old midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni once again put in a decent performance with four shots, two of which were on target, in the match.
And it was Tchouameni who broke the deadlock in the first leg of Monaco’s qualifying tie with Sparta Prague, who they lead 2-0 going into the second match in France.
At 7/2 he could be a decent bet to score at anytime while it is hard to argue with the 20/51 on offer for another Monaco win against Sparta.
Anticipate Upset When Ludogorets Host Olympiakos
Ludogorets Razgrad have started their domestic campaign on the front foot with two wins from two matches in which they have fired six goals and conceded only once.
They have also already dispatched both Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Mura in Champions League qualifying and look overpriced at 41/20 to beat Olympiakos in Bulgaria.
The first leg between the sides in Greece finished 1-1, with Olympiakos rescuing a draw with a goal from Aguibou Camara in the 87th minute.
The Greek Super League outfit were also rather uninspiring in the second qualifying round against Neftci, edging each leg 1-0, and they could be worth taking on this time around.
*All odds correct at time of writing