Europa League, Thursday, 30/01/2025 at 9:00 p.m.
A guest appearance at Ibrox Stadium is often associated with great effort. Rangers merge with the audience in their footballing home, creating a magnificent atmosphere that inspires their players to surpass themselves.
This season in the Europa League, however, it has only led to a single home win. Between the clear home defeat against Lyon (1-4) and the point gained in the clash with Tottenham (1-1), the Gers defeated the Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest (4-0).
Three of the last four Europa League matchdays have been rather unfortunate for Philippe Clement and his team, ending without a win. I also rule out a win on the last matchday of the Europa League group stage.
In recent weeks, AI predictions have rarely matched my own tips. The assessments of this encounter are similarly contrary. The only one I could live with is the suggested odds of 1.58 for “both teams to score” at NEO.bet.
However, the offer is quite low considering that only four of the seven EL encounters involving the guests ended with goals on both sides.
Completely against my better judgment, the two AI tips are higher-risk. The Gers have only won one of three EL home games. Accordingly, I don’t want to burn my fingers on odds of 3.30 for “Half-time/End-time: Rangers/Rangers”. If you disagree, you are welcome to try your luck at Bwin.
Finally, ChatGPT lets us place a high-risk bet on an exact result. A “2-1 Rangers victory” pays 7.75 times the amount wagered at Interwetten – provided that this scenario occurs.
Analysis: Glasgow Rangers vs Royale Union SG
If you happened to watch the highlights of the game between Glasgow Rangers and Manchester United, you are well aware of Cyriel Dessers’ confidence.
For those of you who didn’t see the 30-year-old’s equalizing goal, take a look.
Dessers cleverly pushed Harry Maguire aside in the fight for a long ball, pulled the bow lamp towards his foot like a magnet at the same time and blasted the leather into the far corner as dry as dust.
Most recently, the center forward scored six goals in four competitive games and fulfilled his duties in the best possible way. However, Dessers has not scored a home goal this season in the Europa League.
This could be the case again against Royale Union SG. The visitors are experts when it comes to defense and have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last six Europa League games.
In contrast, the Belgian Cup winners have scored only seven goals in seven Europa League games, which is why a bet on “under 2.5 goals” in the game could make sense.
This Interwetten freebet gives you additional protection and, despite odds of 2.25, allows you to place a low-risk bet.
Odds Analysis
The betting providers have decided to give both teams victory odds of at least 2.20. An appropriate assessment for a duel between two teams with an identical points tally (11 points each).
As I just mentioned, I see value in the odds for “Under 2.5 goals”. This bet also matches perfectly with my Glasgow Rangers Royale Union tip.
In addition, I am keeping a close eye on the odds for “Both teams to score: No” right up until kick-off. The corresponding odds are already at 2.40 in some cases.
Glasgow Rangers vs. Royale Union SG Odds: A true executor
It was not easy for Royale Union to get back into the play-offs after four games without a win (2U, 2N). However, the Belgian Cup winners did not give up, winning three difficult games against Twente (1-0), Nice (2-1) and Braga (2-1) to build a three-point cushion ahead of the final matchday of the league phase.
The key to the positive development in recent weeks has been the terrific goal scoring of a 21-year-old striker who attended the FC Augsburg football academy at the age of 12.
Franjo Ivanovic has always trusted his own intuition throughout his career. That’s how he ended up in Sebastien Pocognoli’s team this season, via HNK Rijeka. Ivanovic has scored the last four EL goals for the USG, and he was directly involved in two of the last three EL wins.
Starting help via the defense
Since the striker’s goal explosion, the basic structure of the visiting team has worked much better again. The Belgian suburban club is difficult to beat in a 3-5-2 formation, allowing no more than one goal in six of seven EL games and a total of six goals conceded (3rd).
Sebastien Pocognoli made a name for himself as a player through his defensive work. He has clearly passed on this DNA to his team. The Royale Union players know when to make a foul. 23 yellow cards, two sending offs and one direct sending off rarely hurt the defense.
In terms of clean sheets, only AS Roma have kept out more shots (3) as the USG have only allowed 80 shots on target (9th).
If the Pocognoli players get through the first half unscathed, their chances of scoring points at Ibrox increase exponentially.
The visitors have conceded only two of their six goals after the break. In contrast, the Belgians have scored five of seven EL goals in the second half.
The distribution of the goals conceded by the Gers looks a little different. The Scottish hosts conceded six of nine goals in the second 45 minutes.
Based on this, a bet on “Royale Union winning at least one half” can be argued. For odds of 1.96, I recommend the Winamax bonus.
Regardless of the competition, the guests are in sensational form. Union SG have only lost one of their last 18 competitive games (12W, 5D) and won four competitive games in a row before this clash.
My Glasgow Rangers Royale Union SG betting tip:
Both teams bring a top-12 defense in terms of expected goals conceded. Overall, I would rather bet on a low-scoring encounter and put the guests in the role of favorites despite higher win rates.
The Rangers players revealed in the last EL game against Manchester United that the intense weeks around the turn of the year have left their mark.
The Royale Union, on the other hand, have always been able to rely on their own defense and have only conceded more than one goal in one EL encounter.
My Glasgow Rangers Royale Union SG betting tip: Double chance 1X!
