Rangers FC vs Union Saint-Gilloise Preview 09/08/2022

Rangers FC vs Union Saint-Gilloise – 09/08/2022

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On Tuesday night, Rangers host Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox in the Champions League third qualifying second leg, with a spot in the play-off stage at stake.

Union recorded a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture in Belgium and are favourites to book their spot in the next round of the competition.

Rangers

The Scottish giants have an uphill mountain to climb to recover from the first leg defeat. The loss was sandwiched in between two straight SPL victories over Livingston and Kilmarnock, so Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team has not been in awful form of late.

However, the first leg defeat may not have been a major shock, as Rangers have a poor recent record in the Champions League.

In fact, Rangers have failed to win in their last nine matches in European football’s elite competition, having suffered six defeats in the run.

They have also suffered three consecutive home defeats in the Champions League, although two of those games were a decade ago.

Union Saint-Gilloise

The visitors finished top of the Belgian top-flight table in the regular season. However, they ended up finishing second in the Championship group, with Club Brugge ending the season as Belgian champions.

Karel Geraerts team has made a mixed start to the new campaign, though, picking up four points from their opening three league matches in the Jupiler Pro League.

A 3-0 defeat at Mechelen last weekend ended a nine-game unbeaten run for Union Saint-Gilloise in all competitions that dated back to last season.

Unlike Rangers, Union had never featured in the Champions League before the first leg. If they hold their nerve in the second leg, then they could be 180 minutes from playing in the group stages of the competition.

What does Forebet predict?

Forebet predicts a narrow away win in a low-scoring game that would see the visitors book a place in the play-offs of the Champions League.