Football Bet of the Day: Rangers ready to take the lead

Rangers take on Viktoria Plzen in a crucial first leg of a Champions League third qualifying round tie. The Gers were held to a 1-1 draw at Motherwell in their opening Scottish Premiership contest at the weekend, but the Light Blues have saved their best for European competitions in recent seasons and a packed Ibrox will be expecting a big performance from Russel Martin’s men.

Plzen got the better of Swiss side Servette in round two and the Czechs will be eyeing a place in the play-offs. Below you can find my Football Bet of the Day.

It’s early days for Rangers under new boss Russell Martin and the Gers haven’t been entirely convincing in their opening three matches of the campaign.

The Light Blues got past Panathinaikos 2-0 at Ibrox in the first leg of their previous Champions League qualifier, but they were held to a 1-1 draw in Greece.

The start of the Scottish Premiership season saw Martin’s men only picking up a point in a 1-1 draw against Motherwell, but there are a few reasons to expect better in Europe on Wednesday.

Rangers vs Viktoria Plzen Odds

Ibrox will be packed full of passionate home fans and the intimidating atmosphere has proved too much for many European visitors to handle in recent seasons.

Plzen will also be without star man Pavel Sulc, who has left to join Lyon and there are concerns for Miroslav Koubek’s men elsewhere.

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Midfielder Adrian Zeljkovic is suspended and first-choice keeper Martin Jedlicka is missing through injury, and alongside Sulc they rate as pretty big absentees for the visitors.

Martin ripped into his Rangers squad following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fir Park, but the Gers didn’t perform as badly as the manager’s reactions suggest and it may have been a case of the former Norwich defender trying to motivate his player with this game in mind.

The Gers have added to their squad in the summer, with the arrivals of Lyall Cameron, Max Aarons, Thelo Aasgaard, Emmanuel Fernandez and Djeidi Gassama there are plenty of options open to Martin on Wednesday night.

Rangers will know that taking an advantage over the Czechs at Ibrox is a must and the Light Blues look a good bet to secure a victory in front of their home supporters.

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