Rangers vs. Union Saint-Gilloise Betting Tips: Back Tavernier to be carded at Ibrox

Rangers face Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday evening in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier. We’ve previewed the action and provided you with our best bets for the game. 

Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have been hugely disappointed as his side lost the first leg away in Belgium by two goals to nil. The Gers now have it all to do in front of their own fans, in what should be a packed out Ibrox, with the winner of this tie going through to the play-offs where they will face either PSV Eindhoven or Monaco.

Union Saint-Gilloise, who are owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom, were only promoted back to the Belgian top-flight in March 2021 before going on an incredible run to finish top of the Belgian First Division A. They became the first side to ever achieve that feat, before going on to finish second behind Club Brugge in the Champions play-off stage. 

It was a contrasting weekend for these two sides in their domestic LEAGUES, with Rangers entering this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League on Saturday. Rangers have not reached the group stages of the Champions League since all the way back in 2010, and are priced at 11/4 with most bookmakers to turn this one around and qualify for the play-offs.

On the flip side, Union SG were beaten 3-0 at the weekend by Mechelen over in the Belgian Pro League. Manager Karel Geraerts will bring his side here hoping they do not crumble in the potentially raucous atmosphere created by the home supporters. The Belgians put in an incredible performance in the first leg with Giovanni Van Bronckhorst stating that they could have easily put more past his Rangers side. 

Alfredo Morelos scored after coming off the bench in his return from injury at the weekend, although it’s uncertain whether or not he will start the game against Union. Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack are both expected to come back into the side after being named as substitutes on Saturday.

Rangers may have been played off the park last week in Belgium when they went down 2-0 to Union SG, however I’m backing them to win the game inside 90 minutes on home soil. Had the Scots not been defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt in last year's Europa League final, they would not be in this situation and would have already qualified for the Champions League. 

That remarkable European journey to Seville left plenty of memories and gave us all a reminder of just how much of a fortress Ibrox can become on those big nights. I expect the crowd to be fully on board for this one, and I think it will really intimidate the visitors who may never have experienced anything like this before. Rangers can call on some of their big players returning such as Alfredo Morelos, Glen Kamara and John Lundstram and after seeing off Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig in the Europa League knockout stages last term, they should have enough quality to win here.

The second selection I’ve picked out for this game in Scotland is for James Tavernier to be carded, which at the time of writing is available at 19/5 with BetVictor. Player prop markets are a little scarce 24 hours from kick-off so it may be worth checking around for a bigger price before the off, however, I still think this represents value considering what is at stake here with Rangers taking a step towards the Champions League group stage.

Last season, no player picked up more yellow cards in the Scottish Premier League for the Gers than Tavernier who was cautioned in nine of his 35 appearances. In the 2021/2022 campaign, the attacking-minded right-back averaged 1.9 tackles per game and 0.9 fouls per game. Greek referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos will be on the whistle for this one, and across his last six european matches he’s taken control of, he’s given out 29 yellow cards (4.83pg).