Braga v Rangers
Thursday, 20:00
Live on BT Sport
Gers off to Portugal
Glasgow Rangers return to Europa League action on Thursday when travelling to Portugal, where they’ll take on Sporting Braga in the quarter-finals. The Archbishops enjoy home advantage for this first leg and will be eager to make it count, but the stats are against the Primeira Liga fourth-place finishers.
Braga and Rangers have met in competitive action only twice before, with the Scots winning both matches. Those encounters came in this competition two years ago when the Gers rallied back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Ibrox before claiming a hard-fought but deserved 1-0 at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.
Braga finished behind Red Star
Braga’s Europa League adventure began in Group F, where they finished as runners up behind Red Star Belgrade, ending a point off the final tally posted by the Serbians. Red Star have since been eliminated from this competition at the hands of Rangers. Braga posted stats of three wins and one draw against two defeats, scoring a dozen goals but conceding nine.
In the two knockout rounds since, Braga have beaten Sheriff Tiraspol on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate score, then dispatched the hotly fancied Monaco 3-1 on aggregate. The hosts were last seen in action on Friday when they banked a stunning 3-2 home league win over Benfica.
The goals that day were scored by Iuri Medeiros, Andre Horta and Vitor Oliveira. The three points gained that day moved Braga to fourth in the league, 21 points off the pace set by Porto.
Bears with a sore head
Rangers travel to Portugal on the back of Sunday’s disastrous Old Firm defeat at Ibrox. The light blues took the lead early in that match thanks to a goal from Aaron Ramsay but were dropped by two first-half sucker punches. That loss puts Celtic six points clear in the Scottish Premiership title race. Most Gers fans have since conceded the league, deeply concerned at their team’s domestic form since Giovanni van Bronkhorst replaced Steven Gerrard.
This competition has been kinder to the Dutch boss, with Rangers ending Group A behind Lyon before eliminating Borussia Dortmund 6-4 on aggregate and Red Star Belgrade 4-2 over two legs. Winning the Europa League will put Rangers into next season’s Champions League, but that’s a long shot, even at this late stage.
The Scots will have to make do without star striker Alfredo Morelos who misses this trip through injury and is expected to be a long-term absentee.
Visitors would take a draw
Sporting Braga aren’t the biggest name opponent Rangers have faced in this competition so far, but the pressure is on to get a result following Sunday’s defeat. With Celtic clear in the league, this competition becomes more important.
The pre-match betting on the Betfair Exchange has Braga at 2.47/5 with Rangers 3.39/4 and the draw 3.55/2. Both previous meetings were won by Rangers by a single goal, and another close match is expected. We’re taking the draw.
Each of Rangers last three games in all competitions have finished with a 2-1 scoreline. Both teams to score again here is 1.865/6, or you can take over 2.5 goals in the match at 2.0811/10.
