Rangers vs Shkupi Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

It’s a night of firsts at Ibrox on Thursday night, as plenty of Macedonian fans celebrate Shkupi’s first ever Europa League clash. Meanwhile, a fair few fans will be showing up for Steven Gerrard’s competitive bow as a first team manager. He kicks off a massive job this week, as he tries to lead Rangers back to the top of Scottish football. While that’s a huge task, there’s also their issues on the European front. The Gers haven’t made a splash in Europe since 2011, and that wait is something they’ll be desperate to change.

Can Rangers improve their standing in Europe with a Europa League victory on Thursday? They kick off this first round tie at home to Macedonian minnows Shkupi, and the Gers are massive favourites going in to the clash. They’re expected to rack up a big win, but not for the first time. The Gers were expected to run riot in their first round clash with Progres Niederkorn of Luxembourg. A narrow 1-0 home win was followed by a 2-0 defeat in the away leg, resulting in one of the biggest European humiliations in British football history.

That’s part of the burden which rests on Gerrard’s shoulders here. He’s expected to lead a bright new era in the Premiership, but their European under-performance is something he also needs to address. There’s little doubt that the Gers will be the side to progress from this one, with Shkupi as big as 28/1 for a shock away win. However, the ghost of Progres is going to hang over Ibrox on Thursday. After failing to deliver a big victory last year, will they make amends this time around?

Gerrard’s side are back in action very early in their preseason campaign, and they may not be fully ready for a competitive 90 minutes. They can expect the visitors to come here and defend deep, as they look to make the most out of their first ever European game. Their league form last season doesn’t suggest a shock, with 13 wins and 11 defeats from 36 matches in the Macedonian league last term. Surely Rangers will make short work of this tie?

It’s over 11 years since Rangers last scored three goals in a Europa League tie. They struggled in both legs against poor opposition last season, and their home matches weren’t exactly that entertaining. They failed to score more than twice in 15 of their 19 home games, and we expect them to make a slow start in their return to action. While we are backing a 2-0 victory for Gerrard’s side, we’re backing their string of low scoring European ties to continue. Under 3.5 looks like the value for us here, which has landed in Rangers’ last six Europa League matches.