Europa League
2026-08-13 - Rangers vs Jagiellonia
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round Second Leg
Thursday 13th August 2026 - Kick Off 7:30pm
Rangers
The really poor ending to last season saw Rangers slip out of the title race and fans demanded changes to be made. They appointed Derek McInnes as the new manager after his success leading Hearts in the last campaign, but this has been a disappointing start to the new campaign and the pressure is already building on the manager and the Rangers board.
After picking up a single point from the opening two Scottish Premiership games and losing 2-1 in the First Leg of this Europa League Qualifier, a well known bookmaker of the United Kingdom and Ireland decided to pay out on Celtic retaining the title next May. That underlines the kind of response fans have had to the early Rangers results after another defeat this past weekend and McInnes will find it tough to explain if his new team are dumped out of the Europa League at the first hurdle.
Rangers conceded very late in the 1-2 home defeat to Hibernian and this means the team have won 1 of the last 8 games played in all competitions and suffered 6 defeats in that time. That defeat on Sunday also means Rangers have lost their last 3 at Ibrox in all competitions, while the side finished up the last European campaign with 3 wins and 3 defeat in 7 home ties played during the 2025/26 season.
Youssef Chermiti may have been moving on during this transfer window, but suffered an injury against Hibernian and is a doubt. The new manager is still trying to work out his best team early in his tenure, while Chairman Andrew Cavenagh is hoping to bring in more players for Derek McInnes, although none will be eligible for this Second Leg.
Jagiellonia
There has been plenty of criticism of Rangers back in Scotland after losing the First Leg of this Europa League Third Qualifying Round tie, but Jagiellonia fans will not appreciate hearing how their own club have been described by the Scottish media. Winning the First Leg may have been an upset, but Jagiellonia have shown a decent European pedigree last season and will have come into this tie with a lot of confidence.
They may have been beaten in the Knock Out Play Off Round of the Conference League, but Jagiellonia gave Fiorentina an almighty scare by forcing Extra Time in Florence despite losing the First Leg 0-3 at home. Eventually they were beaten on aggregate following the final 2-4 victory away from home, but Jagiellonia will be travelling to Glasgow unbeaten in 7 away ties since losing 2-0 at Real Betis in the Conference League Quarter Final in April 2025.
Jagiellonia began this season with 3 straight wins in all competitions and that has meant winning 6 of the previous 7 going back to the end of last season, but the run was ended in a 0-2 defeat to Widzew Lodz this past weekend. The side are still unbeaten in 5 away games in all competitions and Jagiellonia have won 3 of those matches.
A number of changes were made to the starting eleven for the last League game with this Second Leg in mind.
Head to Head
This is the first time Rangers will be hosting a competitive fixture between the clubs.
Prediction
There is never going to be a lot of patience at Ibrox and the start made under Derek McInnes has already raised the temperature around Rangers.
Defeats to Jagiellonia and Hibernian following a draw with Dundee United has increased the noise around Rangers and McInnes is going to find it very hard to be given the time he may need if he cannot find some big results immediately.
Rangers played well enough against Hibernian, but they lacked a cutting edge and ultimately were punished late on.
A fast start is going to be needed if only to get the fans behind the team and Rangers cannot really think about dropping out of the Europa League immediately. They did struggle in the League Phase of this competition last season after coming up short in the bid to join the Champions League Group, but fans will not consider anything other than a victory in this tie as the minimum expectation of the team.
Jagiellonia came from behind to win the First Leg and they are a little further along in the domestic campaign, but that is not excuse for Rangers.
In the last couple of years, Jagiellonia have found a way into the Knock Out Rounds of the Conference League and they were unbeaten in 7 away UEFA ties last season. That has to be given plenty of respect, especially as they produced positive results at Strasbourg, AZ Alkmaar and Fiorentina in that run.
This is a team that will arrive in Glasgow in confident mood and Jagiellonia can play a part in what could be a relatively high-scoring Second Leg with the onus on Rangers to come forward.
The Pick :
Rangers 3-1 Jagiellonia
