Rangers (Sco) vs PSV (Ned) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-08-21 19:00.
For the second consecutive season, Rangers and PSV will be clashing heads in the play-off round of a UEFA Champions League (UCL), with a spot in the group stage on the line. It was the Glasgow giants who prevailed on the previous occasion, sealing progression to the group phase with a 1-0 victory in Eindhoven thanks to Antonio Čolak’s close-range finish. However, with the Croatia international now at Serie B side Parma, manager Michael Beale will be looking for new heroes to step forward.
Incredibly, Beale hasn’t lost at Ibrox since taking the reins in November, winning 15 of his matches in charge on home soil and drawing the other two. Their most recent such encounter saw a very different looking side only just squeak past second-tier outfit Greenock Morton in the Scottish League Cup, with new signing Danilo netting the winner. The Brazilian will likely relish playing PSV, having bagged twice in three starts when playing against them in the Netherlands with FC Twente and Feyenoord.
PSV, meanwhile, are loving life under new manager Peter Bosz, who has overseen five wins from five outings since taking the role. That’s despite the added difficulty of his players having had to come from behind in their last two competitive outings, ultimately recording 3-1 wins against both Sturm Graz and Vitesse, the latter of which saw Bosz angrily sub three players off at half-time.
As they turn their attention back to Europe, the Red and Whites may draw motivation from the 2018/19 squad, who defeated BATE Borisov to reach the UCL group stage. That remains the only time in four attempts that the Dutch heavyweights have made it through the final round of UCL qualifying in its current guise. PSV’s all-time record against Scottish opposition doesn’t make for inspirational reading either (W1, D4, L5) although that solitary triumph came against Rangers in the last 16 of the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League.
Players to watch: After a debut to forget at Kilmarnock, Cyriel Dessers has netted twice in four subsequent Rangers appearances, and scored three times against PSV for Feyenoord two seasons ago. As he approaches his 33rd birthday, visiting captain Luuk de Jong is on fire, with six goal involvements in his last four outings (G4, A2).
Hot stat: Rangers have failed to keep a UCL clean sheet since their 1-0 win at PSV last August – a run that currently stands at eight games (GA: 24).