Prediction: Midtjylland vs Rangers

Prediction: Midtjylland win

Best Odds: 31/20

Bookmaker: bet365

The UEFA Europa League qualifying stages are really starting to heat up, as we get closer and closer towards the group stage. Many big teams have now ‘entered the game’ so to speak, beginning their journey towards what they hope will be a successful trip to Gdansk next May. While some sides will consider that to be a much more realistic ambition than others, they’re all going to give it everything they’ve got in the name of qualifying – and that’s something we can all get on board with.

Midtjylland

Midtjylland have spent the last few years coming into the forefront of the European football scene, but even with that being the case, it still feels like they’re a bit of a way off from making any kind of real impact. From a domestic standpoint, they’ll be itching to get one over on FC Copenhagen this season, who managed to snatch the title away from them last season. Beyond that, though, they’ll probably also fancy themselves as dark horses to do quite well in this competition.

Team News

Brumado and Wikheim will hope to lead the line for the home side with Sparv in the middle directing traffic, as they aren’t expected to make all too many changes from their last league outing.

Rangers

Steven Gerrard’s side have a lot of heart and determination, and in European football, that can take you quite a long way. However, it’s safe to say that they’re going to have a pretty tricky route to the group stage. If they’re able to get through the Danes, which is going to be a tough ask in itself, they’ll have to navigate their way through either Atromitos or Legia Warsaw. Oh, and they also have to balance that with trying to take the Scottish Premiership title away from bitter rivals Celtic.

Team News

Rangers will be at full strength here with Morelos getting the nod to start.

Factors to Consider

• The winner of this tie will go through to the Playoff Round, which is the final round before the group stages.
• Rangers have already been through two qualifying rounds in the Europa League this season.
• This tie marks Midtjylland’s entry into this season’s Europa League.
• Rangers have won four and drawn one of their games so far this season, including the Scottish Premiership.
• Midtjylland have won all four of their Danish Superliga games this season by one goal.

Conclusion

Rangers have stumbled slightly in recent weeks, and given the way in which the start of the season has gone for both teams, we can see them faltering here. Midtjylland may not be the world’s most threatening attacking presence, but their defensive work should be enough to keep the Scottish side at bay and restrict any kind of away goal threat. It isn’t going to be a one sided domination by any means and it could actually be quite fun to watch, but in the end, the Danish side will come away with the spoils.

Prediction: Midtjylland win

Best Odds: 31/20

Bookmaker: bet365