Europa League betting tips: Rangers v Alashkert best bets and preview
Jake Pearson preview the first leg of Rangers' UEFA Europa League qualifier against Alashkert, picking out his best bet and score prediction.
Football betting tips: Europa League
1pt Rangers to win (-2 handicap) at 29/20 (MansionBet)
After the perfect season in 2020/21, winning the Scottish Premier League for the first time since 2010/11, as well as going the entire league campaign unbeaten, Rangers were dealt a reality check at the beginning of this term, losing for the first time in 41 league matches as Dundee United held on for a 1-0 win, before crashing out of the Champions League at the qualification stage.
Consecutive 2-1 defeats to Malmo means Rangers now need to beat Armenian champions Alashkert over two legs to guarantee European football of any description at Ibrox this season.
A thumping 5-0 victory over Dunfermline in the second round of the Scottish Cup will have given the Gers plenty of confidence coming into this game though, and with the Ibrox crowd behind them, Steven Gerrard’s men should face a relatively straightforward task.
Kick-off time: 20:00 BST, Thursday
Rangers 1/8 | Draw 6/1 | Alashkert 14/1
Alashkert won the Armenian top-flight for just the fourth time in their history last season, and should they beat Rangers, they will become the first ever representative from their country to play in the Europa League group stage.
Either way, though, they are guaranteed a place in the Europa Conference League, and that would still be an impressive achievement for the club.
Alashkert’s title defence has not started ideally however, losing both of their opening fixtures, conceding five and scoring none, and the layers have hardly given them a chance of snatching a result in Glasgow.
Gerrard's Rangers have been ruthless over the last year, scoring an impressive 51 non-crucial goals (goals scored that increased an existing league) in the league last term, and that is expected to continue into this fixture.
Rangers won 19 of their 19 home matches in the SPL last season, scoring 57 goals and conceding just four, with 50% of those wins coming by a margin of three or more goals.
In last season’s Europa League qualification campaign they netted 11 times in three matches, conceding once, and another emphatic Rangers performance is expected against Alashkert.
Rangers will certainly not want to travel to Armenia with work still to do to secure qualification, so we could see the Scottish side go all out for a convincing win in the first leg, which makes backing RANGERS TO WIN -2 GOALS appealing, particularly at a best price of 29/20.
Rangers v Alashkert best bets and score prediction
- Rangers to win (-2 handicap) at 29/20 (MansionBet)
Score prediction: Rangers 4-0 Alashkert (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct at 1030 BST (17/08/21)
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