Viktoria Plzen vs Rangers Prediction: Back the Scots to sail through on Tuesday night

The UEFA Champions League third qualifying round continues in midweek with the second legs. Rangers hammered Viktoria Plzen 3-0 at Ibrox, meaning they arrive in the Czech Republic with one foot in the playoffs.

After tipping two winners from two picks at good odds in the first leg, Betfred’s Scottish football writer Frank Monkhouse returns with his Viktoria Plzen vs Rangers Predictions for the second leg in his match preview here on Betfred Insights...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds from the plethora of games available to bet on over on betfred.com

Viktoria Plzen enjoy home advantage on Tuesday when hosting Rangers at Doosan Arena from 18:00 BST. The Czech First League team know they must beat Rangers in Plzen, and do it in style after a heavy defeat in Glasgow.

Miroslav Koubek’s team expected a rough ride in Govan, but few predicted they’d lose in such a convincing fashion, leaking three goals without troubling Jack Butland. The hosts must win by three just to send this tie into extra time, and that’s unlikely.

Rangers have one foot in the Champions League playoffs. Manager Russell Martin celebrated his side’s performance in the first leg, cheering goals for Cyriel Dessers and a Djeidi Gassama double.

Despite wiping the floor with the Czechs, Rangers suffered another poor performance and an embarrassing draw in the Premiership on Saturday. The visiting side knows they have a three-goal cushion, but also understands the importance of making a quickfire return to winning ways.

Viktoria Plzen vs Rangers Odds

It has become an all-or-nothing game for Viktoria Plzen. The Czechs kick off knowing they must go on the attack and push their opponents back. But Plzen are also experienced and wise enough to know they can’t throw caution to the wind as their opponents can break at speed and cause pain on the counterattack. Viktoria face a must-win game on Tuesday, but will they claim the desired result? You can back Plzen at odds of 4/5 with Betfred.

Rangers were punch-perfect in the first leg and have their opponents on the ropes as a result. You’d be forgiven for thinking Rangers will come to Plzen and pack the defence, knowing a win, draw or defeat by less than three goals sends them through.

But Martin has already mentioned in a chat with the media that he sets up to try to win every game, and that’s the way it’ll always be with him at the helm. Fancy the visitors to do the double? You can bet on Rangers to win at 3/1 or play the draw at 3/1.

Under 2.5 goals

Koubek will send his team out to attack from the first whistle, while Martin will advise his boys in blue to hold their shape in defence, be smart in possession of the ball and run hard when they don’t have the football.

The fewer goals scored in this match, the better for Rangers, and they’ll be happy to sit back and wait for their opponents to make a mistake. We saw last week that with Gassama, Dessers and Oliver Antman in the team, Rangers can turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.

Looking through the stats, we see a bet on under 2.5 goals would’ve landed you a return in Rangers 1-1 draw at the weekend, the two-goal draw at Motherwell, and in both games against Panathinaikos in the previous round.

It was also the smart approach when Viktoria Plzen lost 1-0 here against Servette in the 2nd qualifying round. Keeping the scores low will be Martin’s game plan, and I’m happy to add under 2.5 goals to our midweek accumulators. With this approach, you’re betting on the match to end with two or fewer goals scored by both teams combined at 6/5 with Betfred.

Rangers to win

Given just how impressive Rangers were in the opening leg and the fact that their hosts must take risks to try and throw themselves a lifeline in the tie, I’m backing the visitors to win.

Rangers seem to reserve their best performances for European competition, and another two points dropped at the weekend only increases the pressure on the squad. They barely put a foot wrong last week, and their margin of victory could’ve been even greater.

If Plzen attack from the opening whistle, Rangers have the confidence and character across their line-up to stand firm and punish any mistakes. The Gers defence will set up to defend on the edge of their box, limiting Plzen to shots from distance, as they did for most of the game against Panathinaikos last Wednesday.

An away win would surprise no one, and I’m confident Rangers are the value play in Pilsen at 3/1 on the Betfred site and app.

Frank Monkhouse Scottish Football P/L

25/26 Season:

• Points Placed: 16
• Points Returned: 9.22
• P/L: -6.78

24/25 Season:

• Points Placed: 257
• Points Returned: 252.25
• P/L: -4.75

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...