Are the Rangers walking into a trap at home?
A total of seven places are still up for grabs in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Five of these seven tickets are guaranteed to go to national champions, with only two being allocated via the play-offs. This is where Glasgow Rangers and Viktoria Pilsen come into play, as they face each other on Tuesday evening at Ibrox Stadium in the first leg of the third qualifying round. The Scottish runners-up are considered favorites on home turf. In any case, betting on coach Russell Martin’s team brings lower odds on the three-way market between Glasgow Rangers and Viktoria Plzen.
I strongly disagree with this assessment, arguing primarily that the Glasgow Rangers vs. Viktoria Plzen odds hardly reflect the fact that the “Gers” revealed major defensive problems at the start of this season.
The very courageous and risky style of play of the coach, who was newly signed in the summer, currently means that the balance between possession-oriented offense and structured defense is not quite right, and the Blue, White, and Reds have conceded many high-quality chances in all of their competitive games so far. In the second qualifying round against Panathinaikos, for example, they had goalkeeper Jack Butland to thank for a brilliant performance, and in the league opener against Motherwell at the weekend, the disappointing 1-1 draw was more flattering than anything else.
In addition, the runners-up in the Czech league last season have been in very good form away from home recently. The Bierstädter celebrated a 3-1 victory at Swiss side Servette Geneva, which made up for their undeserved 0-1 home defeat. The first away game in the Chance Liga even ended 5-1 for Koubek’s team, who have made a very dangerous impression in attack so far and should therefore be well capable of causing problems for the home defense.
That is precisely why my Glasgow Rangers vs. Viktoria Pilsen prediction is leaning towards the Czechs. Even for the Asian handicap (+0), which is equivalent to a DNB bet, an impressive 2.60 is being offered, which I absolutely recommend based on the points mentioned above.
Glasgow Rangers – Viktoria Pilsen Head-to-head record / H2H record
The clubs have never faced each other in a competitive match. Rangers have a balanced record in twelve games against clubs from the Czech Republic (5-2-5). Viktoria Pilsen, meanwhile, has had very good experiences in Scotland. The only two direct duels in the 2024/25 EL playoffs were both won 1-0 against Hearts.
Glasgow Rangers – Viktoria Pilsen Tip
Competitive matches against Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, Inter Milan or FC Bayern. That is the big dream of many teams competing for the vacant spots in the Champions League qualifiers in recent weeks. Two clubs that reached the knockout stages of the Europa League last season are now hoping to make it into the main draw of Europe’s premier club competition. In my opinion, the Czechs from Pilsen have even better chances of reaching the playoffs than Glasgow Rangers.
The main reason for this is that the “Gers” currently have major defensive weaknesses under their new coach Russell Martin, and their extremely active style of play tends to lead to problems. In every game, the opposing team had a higher xG value. With Viktorka, an opponent brimming with confidence and having scored eight goals in two away games, waiting on Tuesday evening, home fans should not assume that the Beer City team will be squandering their chances…
In my opinion, the value ahead of the Glasgow Rangers vs. Viktoria Pilsen match lies in the betting odds on a good result for Koubek’s team. The visitors are particularly capable of causing problems in attack at Ibrox. My main tip is therefore that Pilsen will score the first goal of the game. The top odds for this are 2.55 and are offered by Bet-at-Home. The stake is four units.
