Rangers vs Genk Prediction: Hosts to ease pressure on Martin with an important win

The 2025/26 Europa League campaign begins this midweek with the opening round of fixtures played on Wednesday and Thursday. The competition has given Rangers fans plenty to cheer in recent years, including that famous run to the 2022 final in Seville. 

The current squad badly needs a morale-boosting winning streak after being eliminated from the Champions League by Club Brugge in a disastrous playoff. Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse picks Rangers to make home advantage count against Genk as he takes us through his Rangers vs Genk Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds and betting markets we offer over at betfred.com

Rangers return to Ibrox hoping to land back-to-back wins. The light blues impressed when beating Hibs 2-0 here in the League Cup on Saturday evening and now face a Genk side that finished third in the Belgian Pro League.

TNT Sports 2 will be broadcasting the game live for UK viewers. Kick-off is slated for 20:00.

Protests against manager Russell Martin will continue following the worst start to a league campaign in more than 40 years. The players must focus on the task at hand: securing a win that would show the new regime is finally moving in the right direction.

KRC Genk ended in the bronze medal position in the Belgian top-tier, finishing behind Union SG and Club Brugge. Racing know they face a tough task in Glasgow against an experienced opponent, but take encouragement from Brugge’s big win over Rangers in the Champions League playoffs.

Gers were embarrassed by the Belgians, losing 3-1 at home and 9-1 on aggregate. Can Genk do something similar to show that the Martin rebuild stands on shaky ground? The away win is likely to be a popular midweek prediction.

Rangers vs Genk Odds

Rangers are often firm favourites when playing at home in the Europa League, especially in the opening exchanges. But there’s more value available in the pre-match betting than I expected.

The hosts helped steady the ship with that battling win over a capable Hibs side in Govan four days ago, and another is likely. You can back Rangers at 7/5 in the match-winner market on the Betfred app and site. That’s good enough to follow as a single or add to your Europa League multiples.

The Genk squad had a day less to prepare for this match, thanks to their home game against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday. How will that impact their plans? Like their hosts, Thorsten Fink’s team have endured a bruising start to the season.

The Blue-White won only two of their opening eight league games, suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Sporting Charleroi earlier this month and a 2-1 when visiting Standard Liege in August. They’re now winless in three. Betfred traders don’t fancy the visitors much, and those who disagree can back Genk to leave Ibrox with all three points at 9/5 or try the draw at 5/2.

Both teams to score

Our first pick is for both Rangers and Genk to score at least one goal each in this match. To support our pick, we begin by examining how Gers have performed at Ibrox in Europe under Martin so far.

They beat Panathinaikos 2-0 in July and Viktoria Plzen 3-0 in August. They were then thrashed 3-1 by Club Brugge in a painful playoff. In the league, they’ve drawn 1-1 with Dundee, 0-0 with Celtic, and lost 2-0 to Hearts. It’s that inconsistency that has the manager’s job hanging by a thread.

At home in all competitions, Rangers have scored 13 goals and conceded eight. In the Belgian league, Genk have played four, won one, drawn one and lost two, scoring five goals and conceding six. They drew 1-1 at Anderlecht, beat Leuven 2-1, and lost 2-1 to both Liege and Brugge.

The stats show a bet on both teams to score is a strong approach, and the nervy atmosphere inside Ibrox on Thursday only adds weight to that prediction. Back BTTS, and the winner doesn’t matter. As long as Rangers and Genk find the net at least once each, your bet wins.

Rangers win

Our second bet at Ibrox on Thursday evening, in a match you can follow live on TNT Sports, is for the locals to celebrate a winning start and a vital three points. Rangers looked more like the team promised by Martin when taking the helm, brushing aside a strong and confident Hibs.

They dominated the football, created chances, and scored two good goals. Without the ball, they ran hard and defended well in difficult circumstances. That’s with Nico Raskin powering the engine room.

The pressure is on Rangers to put together a run of form, and Thursday’s match gives the squad an ideal chance to record back-to-back wins. It won’t be enough to get the fans off Martin’s back, but it will show signs of recovery and suggest that better times are fast approaching.

The protests in and around Ibrox will bring this group of players closer together, but only if they win matches and perform well. If they are anywhere near their best, the price on a home win will look massive.

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Frank Monkhouse Scottish Football P/L

25/26 Season:

• Points Placed: 47
• Points Returned: 31.87
• P/L: -15.13

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...