Rangers are trying to overturn a 1-0 deficit when they welcome RB Leipzig to the famous Ibrox Stadium on Thursday the 5th of May. The Ibrox proved a fortress last time out when Rangers emphatically came from behind to clinch a spot in the semi’s, but RB Leipzig is still in search of their first ever trophy since the clubs induction.
UEFA Europa League Semi Finals (2nd Leg)
Thursday 5 May
Ibrox Stadium
(21:00)
To Win (90 minutes)
Rangers 26/10
Rangers 26/10
Draw 51/20
RB Leipzig 1/1
RB Leipzig 1/1
To Qualify
Rangers 36/10
Rangers 36/10
RB Leipzig 1/6
Rangers
Rangers treble campaign has slowly broken to pieces. They are realistically out of the title race in the Scottish Premiership, they have one foot out the door against Leipzig in the Europa League and are only favourites to beat Hearts in the Scottish Cup come the end of May.
Rangers are winless in their last three home games versus German sides (D1 L2), since beating Werder Bremen in March 2008.
They have only managed six shots on target across their last 300 minutes of action in the Europa League.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has his hands full with team selections as Aaron Ramsey is now in contention, while Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara should make an appearance after only being named as substitutes against Celtic.
Rangers’ form over the last five fixtures across all competitions are a win and draw over rivals Celtic, wins over Sporting Braga and Motherwell, and the first leg loss against Leipzig.
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig are favourites to claim gold in the DfB Pokal final at the end of May, favourites to win the Europa League let alone qualify past Rangers and are sitting in a good position to qualify for next season’s UCL.
The first leg of the semi-final was all in favour of Leipzig and were unlucky to not walk away with a bigger scoreline. The inform guy who you’d want the ball dropping to, Christopher Nkunku, fluffed two chances that could have had the tie done and dusted in Germany.
RB Leipzig’s only previous encounter away from home in Scotland was a 2-1 defeat to Ranger’s eternal rivals, Celtic, in the UEFA Champions League group stages in 2018/19.
Marcel Halsternberg and Lukas Klostermann are in the pipeline to return to action, as is Hungarian forward Dominik Szoboszlai who is likely to pip Andre Silva for the starting XI, and forutnately, head manager Domenico Tedesco has no injury doubts to key players that he should be concerned about.
Across all competitions, Red Bull Leipzig have registered wins over Bayer Leverkusen, Union Berlin in the DfB Pokal semi-final and a loss to them in the Bundesliga, follwed by the Europa League first leg victory, and finally a loss to Borrusia Monchengladbach in which most of the first team rested.
Prediction: RB Leizpig Win (1/1)
The squad selections for both managers are going to be crucial as van Bronckhorst and Tedesco rested key players over the weekend. While Rangers have that Ibrox Stadium behind them in full voice, the clinical edge of Leipzig’s final third play wins this fixture for me as they continue to build heritage into the clubs’ existence.
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Written by Joshua Gaillard