Union Saint-Gilloise vs. Rangers Betting Tips: Anytime goalscorers are the ticket for Tuesday's Champions League qualifier

Rangers narrowly avoided an opening weekend blush thanks to two goals in 101 seconds which helped them come from behind against Livingston in their first Scottish Premiership fixture of the new season on Saturday.

Tuesday is the start of a road in which they'll hope to be one of six successful teams to qualify for the 22/23 edition of the Champions League, stepping up in class from finishing as last season's Europe League runners-up.

20 teams take to the third qualifying phase played over August 2nd/3rd and 9th, with the Scottish outfit part of the format's 'league path', joining the likes of Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Dynamo Kyiv and Benfica in this side of the draw.

Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise are Giovanni van Bronckhorst's initial test here, with the Scots making the trip over to the municipality of Saint-Gilles in Brussels for a tough ride against the club who finished the regular 21/22 Jupiler Pro League season in 1st place.

For a little more background on how things work, teams play home and away with the aggregate winners progressing to their respective path of the play-offs. Defeated teams in the league path will automatically revert to the Europa League group stage, meaning it could be a case of deja-vu for the Gers if all doesn't go to plan over these next two matches.

With that information out of the way, it's time to dig into the juicy stuff for this first clash, highlighting a couple of bets we think are worth backing, along with our reasoning behind each selection and the best possible odds available for both picks.

With fairly limited markets on offer and only three competitive games to go by between the pair, we may have to pull from a couple of different places, including pre-season and last campaign's stats to find some potential value here.

Anytime goalscorers appear to be the way to go judging by some of the prices on show, and first up Tom Lawrence is the name that grabs our immediate attention.

Lawrence travelled north of the border this summer after a tumultuous campaign with Derby and their financial woes. He, however, was one of a few who came out of the ordeal with credit in the bank, ending as County's Championship top goalscorer in a season where he contributed to 16 of their 45 league goals.

The Welshman was someone who found himself at the head of the anytime goalscorer markets for most games he was involved in despite his side's struggles, providing a constant threat in front of goal and possessing that innate ability to produce a moment of magic from seemingly nowhere.

In the 21/22 Championship season, only seven players let off more shots than the 28-year-old, which just so happened to be the division's top seven goalscorers. There were also only eight players who hit the target with their shots more than Lawrence's 38, suggesting that his return of 11 goals - a career high in a single season for him - maybe should have been higher if you value xG.

He made a solid impression in his debut Scottish outing which saw him register four shots on goal and link up the play very well in that attacking midfield role ahead of Kamara and Lundstram.

A night like Tuesday gives him the platform to really leave a mark and get the ball rolling at his new club and we fancy the playmaker to score his first Rangers goal with Bet365 who go best at 10/3.

For our second punt, we're siding with another anytime goalscorer shout who no matter how limited your Scottish football knowledge may be, will be a name most of you will recognise.

James Tavernier joins some of the world's very best in epitomising the definition of a modern day full-back, parading up and down the pitch and receiving the ball high up the field in dangerous positions numerous times in any given game.

Take his contribution vs Livingston as a prime example of that: the defender earned himself a WhoScored rating of 9.1 - levels above the next closest in Ryan Kent with 7.6 - letting off six shots, with three of those hitting the target and one rifling the back of the net as his delicious free-kick secured Gers the victory.

The 30-year-old shows no signs of letting up during the 22/23 campaign, and although player props aren't necessarily apparent at the time of writing, he seems like a good target to find his name down on the scoresheet again on Tuesday.

May we remind you that Bradford-born Tavernier finished as the Europa League's top goalscorer with seven goals last term, in addition to notching nine for Rangers in the SPL - a tally that only Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe bettered among his teammates.

Posting goalscoring numbers across all competitions like these while up in Scotland make it plainly obvious why you should always be on the lookout for his odds when Rangers are playing:

• 2021/22: 18
• 2020/21: 16
• 2019/20: 3
• 2018/19: 17
• 2017/18: 9
• 2016/17: 10

In the wider context of the league last season, he registered the 14th highest number of shots and the 13th most shots on target of any Scottish top flight player, the most of any defender by a country mile.

Unbelievably, while the opposition may be a step up here, we expect Rangers to offer them too much to handle, which makes the larger price to score on offer good value! He was best price 3/1 with William Hill vs Livingston on Saturday and is 7/2 with a number of firms vs Saint-Gilloise, with SkyBet going best at 4/1. But act quick, that price could well come in if you wait too long, especially with him being Rangers' designated penalty taker!

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