Rangers vs Jagiellonia Bialystok Predictions
Rangers must overturn a one-goal deficit when they host Jagiellonia Bialystok in Thursday’s Europa League third qualifying-round second leg.
While favourites to win, the Gers looked shaky in their weekend defeat against Hibernian, and seem unlikely to keep a clean sheet on Thursday.
BTTS looks a solid choice, while we should also expect three or more goals at Ibrox.
Goals Expected at Ibrox
- Rangers have seen BTTS in 12 of their last 13 matches
- Rangers have seen BTTS & over 2.5 goals in 13 of their last 16 matches (competitive fixtures)
- Jagiellonia scored 1+ goals in 15 of their last 17 matches
Jagiellonia Claim First-Leg Advantage
Rangers and Jagiellonia Bialystok met for the first time in last week’s Europa League third qualifying-round first leg.
In an entertaining contest, Jagiellonia secured a 2-1 victory at Chorten Arena.
Rangers Suffer Shock Hibernian Setback
Rangers return to Ibrox after a surprise 2-1 Premiership defeat against Hibernian on Sunday.
Josh Campbell’s first-half penalty gave Hibs the lead before Mohamed Diomande levelled the contest after the interval.
The Gers pushed for a winner during the closing stages, with 27 efforts generating an xG of 2.2, but Callum Wright’s stoppage-time goal secured a smash-and-grab win for the Hibees.
Derek McInnes remains without a victory after three competitive matches in charge of the Glasgow giants.
Rangers began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Dundee United before successive 2-1 reversals against Jagiellonia and Hibernian.
Defensively shaky, the Gers' issues at the back are long-standing. Rangers failed to keep a clean sheet in 15 of their last 17 competitive fixtures. Two goals or more were conceded in nine of their ten most recent matches (excluding friendlies).
Entertaining outcomes can usually be expected when the Scots are involved in European competitions. Nine of Rangers' 13 European fixtures finished with at least three goals scored. The Gers won only one of those matches.
Jagiellonia Protect Narrow Lead
Jagiellonia Bialystok travel to Glasgow with a narrow 2-1 advantage after an impressive second-half performance in Poland.
Adrian Siemieniec’s side fell behind to an early own goal but took advantage of Rangers’ defensive mistakes to turn the contest around. Kajetan Szmyt scored twice to give the Poles a precious lead ahead of their trip to Scotland.
The Poles were unable to back up that win domestically, though. Bialystok slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against Legia on Sunday.
Jagiellonia enjoyed a strong domestic campaign last season, eventually finishing third in the Ekstraklasa to secure another opportunity to compete in European competitions.
The Polish side also impressed in Europe, reaching the Conference League knockout play-offs last season before a dramatic 5:4 aggregate defeat against Fiorentina.
Jagiellonia lost the home leg 3-0 but responded with a remarkable 4-2 extra-time victory in Florence, suggesting they are more than capable of troubling the hosts on Thursday.
Rangers vs Jagiellonia Bialystok Team News
Rangers: (4-3-3) Ivor Pandur; Ross McCrorie, Emmanuel Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya; Dujon Sterling, Nico Raskin, Cameron Devlin, Dan Neil; Djeidi Gassama, Ryan Naderi, Lawrence Shankland.
Rangers boss McInnes has been dealt a major blow with the loss of Portuguese forward Youssef Chermiti.
The 22-year-old is set for an extended absence after suffering an ACL injury against Hibernian.
Remarkably, Rangers had rejected a £22 million offer from Galatasaray for Chermiti only hours before he sustained the serious injury.
To compound the Gers' injury woes, Tuur Rommens has also been ruled out with a groin strain. Dujon Sterling is likely to deputise at left-back.
McInnes confirmed that the club were still in the market for potential reinforcements.
"We've got a few bids in for several players and a few things are ongoing at the minute.
"Ideally, a lot of these things would have came to fruition a wee bit quicker.
"But hopefully, if there is any news to tell, it'll be in the upcoming days on a few of our targets."
Jagiellonia Bialystok: (4-4-2) Slawomir Abramowicz; Norbert Wojtuszek, Bernardo Vital, Yuki Kobayashi, Guilherme Montoia; Rodrigo Conceicao, Taras Romanczuk, Sergio Lozano, Kajetan Szmyt; Jesus Imaz, Nik Prelec.
Head coach Siemieniec is likely to retain faith with much of the same side that began last week’s first-leg win in Poland.
Record signing Anders Klynge made his debut from the bench and is pushing for his first start.
Kajetan Szmyt should keep his place after scoring both goals in Bialystok.