Europa League
2018-10-04 - Rangers vs Rapid Vienna
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Europa League
Thursday 4th October 2018 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Rangers
There are some real positives for Steven Gerrard to hold onto in his first couple of months as the manager of Rangers, but the former Liverpool captain will also appreciate there is a learning curve for his players to move on. That means there will be some inconsistent results, but Rangers making their way through to the Europa League Group Stage has to be seen as a real success.
On Match Day 1 they showed some battling qualities to earn a 2-2 draw in Villarreal who many would have considered the best of this four team Group. It is a tough section with Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow amongst the best teams from their respective nations, but Rangers have given themselves a shot of confidence with the draw in Spain. The side have won 4 of their last 5 home European games since the beginning of last season, but Rangers are involved in the Group Stage of any European competition for the first time since the 2010/11 season.
Rangers saw their 4 game unbeaten run since losing at Celtic Park come to an end last weekend as they were beaten 1-0 by surprise package Livingston. Both of those defeats came away from home though and Rangers have actually won 10 of their last 11 games at Ibrox in all competitions including the last 6 in a row.
Rapid Vienna
With the money pumped in by Red Bull manufacturing into Salzburg it is perhaps no surprise that is has been ten years since Rapid Vienna last won the Austrian title. They have since become a regular name in the Europa League, but Rapid Vienna have only made it through the Group Stage once in 6 previous tries, although a good start to this Group will have given them confidence.
A 2-0 win over Spartak Moscow at home means Rapid Vienna top the Group after one round of games has been played, but it is a tough Group and work will need to be done to make it through to the Last 32. The side have also struggled to impose themselves away from home in the Europa League and Rapid Vienna have only won 1 of their last 9 on their travels in this competition. The bigger concern will be the 6 losses suffered in that time including in 4 of their last 5 games.
Rapid Vienna have not been in the best form with only 1 win from their last 7 games in all competitions in normal time. They did win at penalty shoot out at Mattersburg in the Austrian Cup last time out, but Rapid Vienna had lost 5 of their previous 6 away games in all competitions.
Head to Head
Rangers and Rapid Vienna have only met once before in European competition and that came back in the 1964/65 season with Rangers being victorious home and away.
Prediction
Progressing in the Europa League through to the Knock Out Rounds could be a big achievement for Rangers and a progressive development for the club in general. Steven Gerrard has made it clear he wants to do well in every competition Rangers play and the 2-2 draw in Villarreal should give them plenty of confidence going forward.
Backing it up with a home win over Rapid Vienna is the key for Rangers if they have serious ambitions of making it through and they have played well enough at Ibrox to do that.
Rangers have won 4 of their 5 home Europa League games played in the last eighteen months and the draw in Villarreal was another positive result for them. Now they face a Rapid Vienna team who have been struggling away from home in recent games and who have a poor away European record with 6 losses from their last 9 away Europa League games.
I am a little concerned that Gerrard is perhaps going to be focusing on the big League games against Hearts to come this weekend, but Rangers have been strong at home throughout 2018/19. The manager will want this to be a difficult ground for any club to visit so will be looking to keep the momentum behind his players and I do think Rangers will edge out Rapid Vienna in this one.
The Austrian side have a lot more European experience than Rangers, but they simply haven't travelled well and I will back the home team on the Asian Handicap which will return half the stake in the event of a draw.
The Pick :
Rangers 2-1 Rapid Vienna
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Rangers - 0.25 Asian Handicap @ 1.75 BetVictor
