On Thursday, there’s an extremely interesting betting offer, featuring the second-leg matches of the Europa League and Conference League Round of 16. This time, we analyzed the duel at Ibrox, where Rangers will host Benfica. The first duel between these two teams a week ago ended in a 2:2 draw, with the rematch scheduled for 18:45.
Rangers: Scottish Giants Impressed in Lisbon!
Last season was not overly successful for Rangers, who again finished second in the Scottish Championship, with the consensus that Celtic had an easier path to the Scottish title than expected. Moreover, the popular Cops did not shine in the Champions League, finishing last in their group with an unfortunate goal difference. Remember, just a year before, the team from Ibrox played in the Europa League final, where they were defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt. Nonetheless, this time their primary goal will be the Scottish Championship title.
Currently, Rangers are at the top of the table, two points behind the second-placed Celtic, setting up another major battle for the country’s championship title. Unfortunately, in the last round, the Cops unexpectedly lost at their stadium to Motherwell, with the match ending 1:2. Fortunately for all Rangers fans, their fiercest rival also lost in the previous round, allowing the Ibrox team to maintain a two-point lead.
At home, the Cops have played fifteen league matches so far, securing twelve victories and three losses, which is certainly more than expected, as Rangers have been known to perform very well at home over the years. The Scottish representative reached the knockout phase of the Europa League with some difficulty, winning in a tough away game against Real Betis 3:2 in the last round, sending the Andalusians to the Conference League.
In the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16, Rangers played a quite good match and drew away against Benfica, with the match ending 2:2, noting that the Scottish representative led twice, but the popular Eagles managed to catch up each time, probably making it the fairest outcome. Regarding absences, manager Philip Helander won’t be able to count on Danilo, Sima, Dover, and Cantwell for this Europa League Round of 16 rematch, while Cortes is a doubt.
Benfica: Eagles are the Paper Favorite, But…
Last season, Benfica achieved its primary goal – the Portuguese Championship title. However, that wasn’t all from this team, which also performed quite well in the Champions League, where the Portuguese representative reached the quarterfinals but was eliminated by Inter Milan, who later made it to the grand final. Additionally, the popular Eagles also won the Portuguese Super Cup, triumphing over Porto, which was the best possible prelude to the start of the season. Of course, we mustn’t forget that the team from the Portuguese capital subsequently lost several very important players, most notably Ramos who joined PSG. However, the club brought in several notable signings, like Di Maria, Cabral, and Kokcu. Be that as it may, we can already safely say that the Eagles will fight with Sporting for the Primeira Liga title until the end of this season.
Currently, Benfica is in second place on the table, one point behind first-placed Sporting, but with the note that the Lions have a game in hand, meaning they are in a very good situation and currently have the best chances for the title. In the last round, the former European champions celebrated at home against Estoril, compensating their fans for the disaster in the previous round when the team suffered a debacle away at Porto (5:0). Remember, the Eagles represented Portugal in the Champions League this season, where they did not impress, finishing third in a group with Inter Milan, Real Sociedad, and Salzburg, clinching a win in the last round away against the Austrian team, a direct competitor.
In the Round of 32, Di Maria and friends managed to eliminate Toulouse, with the first match ending in a Benfica victory, while the second saw no winner or goals. As already mentioned, the first leg of the Round of 16 against Rangers ended 2:2, and the Eagles are surely facing a daunting task at Ibrox. Finally, manager Roger Schmidt doesn’t have too many absence concerns, only being unable to count on Bernat, who is still recovering from a muscle injury.
Our Suggestion
We believe, as in the first duel between these two teams, we can expect many goals. Interestingly, in the last three encounters between these two teams, a total of fourteen goals were scored, so it’s likely that we will see a goal fest at Ibrox. Hence, we advise you to try your luck with the Over 2.5 Goals game at odds of 1.67.
For the same reason, we suggest you try the GG, which the betBonanza bookmaker offers at odds of 1.57.
Finally, it’s quite possible that the winner of this two-legged affair will be decided after extra time, or perhaps even after penalty shootouts. Therefore, we boldly recommend you to play X, with phenomenal odds of 3.75 at betBonanza.
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