Football betting tips: Europa League
1pt Fenerbahce to qualify at 6/1 (Sky Bet)
BuildABet @ 26/1
- Filip Kostic 1+ assists
- Nicolas Raskin to be carded
- Edin Dzeko 2+ shots on target
Rangers vs Fenerbahce (Agg: 3-1)
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
TV: TNT Sports 2
Home 8/5 | Draw 11/4 | Away 7/5
Not too many would have expected the first leg to play out the way in which it did.
Rangers - 4/1 outsiders for success in the first leg - not only secured victory but did so comfortably. The two-goal lead they take back to Ibrox one that puts them in a commanding position.
Or so you'd think. There's still uncertainty about this Rangers side. There's always uncertainty about any recent Rangers side.
THIS GOAL COUNTS!
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 6, 2025
A blistering counter attack is finished off by Václav Černý ⚡
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sGXFs6NPl1
So brilliant one week and awful the next. Defeat to Motherwell before their triumph in Turkey's largest city perhaps the best demonstration of this. Can they be trusted to hold onto what they have?
Fenerbahce know they have to go for it, but it isn't such a desperate stage where they have to throw in an all-out attack approach from minute one. A slender advantage at half-time enough to put the nerves into the home crowd.
This tie is far from over at the clichéd half-time point.
What are the best bets?
Fenerbahce need to win by two goals on the night to force extra-time. That is something they are capable of.
Jose Mourinho's men have secured two-goal or great margins of victory in 12 of their 23 league outings this season while also doing so against Anderlecht in the last stage of this competition.
They have underperformed in this competition, that we can't doubt, but it's interesting to see how they react in this situation. They took Lille to extra-time when beaten in the first leg of their Champions League qualification contest.
It could backfire in siding with them but 6/1 is a big enough price for FENERBAHCE TO QUALIFY given the uncertainty factors on both sides.
Ultimately, this is a Rangers outfit in rebuild mode once again. A full review of 'football operations' combined with an incoming takeover essentially writes off this period.
That doesn't mean they won't go for it, of course, but there's a bigger picture to the club currently and that reflects where they are currently.
Can I have full confidence in them holding onto the lead they have? I'm not so sure.
Team news
Robin Pröpper is unlikely to feature for Rangers after his collision with Jack Butland saw him substituted off in the first-half of the first leg.
Leon Balogun was his replacement in that game and Barry Ferguson may well opt to continue with that back line given the success last week.
Fenerbahce remain without Bright Osayi-Samuel and former Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos who are sidelined with injury.
Caglar Soyuncu will also be missing after he was forced off in the early stages of the first leg.
One positive is that midfielder Fred returns from suspension and he's expected to go straight into the starting line-up.
Rodrigo Becao and Jayden Oosterwolde are both out for the rest of the season.
Predicted line-ups
Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte; Diomande, Raskin; Cerny, Igamane, Hagi; Dessers.
Fenerbahce XI: Egribayrat; Skriniar, Amrabat, Akcicek; Muldur, Fred, Szymanski, Kostic; Tadic; En-Nesyri, Dzeko.
Match facts
- Rangers are unbeaten in their five home matches against Turkish sides in European competition (W3 D2),conceding only one goal in those five games in a 2-1 win over Galatasaray in October 2020.
- Rangers have lost just two of their last 14 home games in the UEFA Europa League (W9 D3), though did lose their last game in the knockout stages in March 2024 against Benfica 1-0.
- Fenerbahçe have won only one of their last 11 knockout stage away games in major European competition (D3 L7), conceding 2+ goals in seven of those games, including five of the last six.
- Rangers come into the second leg with a 3-1 aggregate lead – they’ve progressed from 24 of their previous 25 major European ties when leading by 2+ goals from the first leg, going out to Borussia Dortmund in the last 32 of the 1999-00 UEFA Cup in the other (2-2 on aggregate, lost on pens).
- No player has been involved in more goals in the UEFA Europa League this season than Rangers’ Václav Cerny (8 – 6 goals, 2 assists), with his next goal in this season’s competition equalling James Tavernier’s tally of seven in 2021-22 for the most goals by a Rangers player in a campaign of major European competition.
Odds correct at 1235 GMT (12/03/25)
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