Rangers v Stuttgart: Betting Preview & Tips

Rangers v Stuttgart
Live on Sky Sports 3. Kick off Tuesday 7.45pm

Despite two horrific 4-1 home defeats in Group G, Rangers still have a realistic chance of progressing to the last 16. That’s even although they currently sit bottom of the group on just 2 points. A win tomorrow coupled with a defeat for Unirea at the hands of Seville would see the Ibrox club move up alongside the Romanians on 5 points and really give Walter Smith’s men something to play for in Spain on Matchday 6.

Smith could not have hand-picked better opponents to be facing either. Stuttgart are on a horrendous run of form at the moment and have slid to third-bottom of the Bundesliga. With zero wins in their last 10 games (5 draws and 5 defeats) and a measly 5 goals scored in that time, the timing could not be better for Rangers to record their first win of this Champions League campaign.

Rangers comfortably saw off Kilmarnock at the weekend by 3 goals to nil whilst Stuttgart were held to a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Hertha Berlin so the Gers tails could well be up a little. Kris Boyd netted his customary goal against his former club and Smith may be tempted to be a bit more adventurous than previous home ties by going with a 4-4-2 line up that features Boyd and Miller up front. If so then 7/4 (Skybet, Stan James) could be a decent price on the home win.

But you know what they say. ‘never write off the Germans’. Domestic form has been so poor that 3 points from 12 in the Champions League has offered a glimmer of hope for Stuttgart who also harbour ambitions of making the knock-out stages. Those 3 points have come courtesy of three 1-1 draws against each of their Group G opponents so it appears they’re capable of at least competing at this level. A win at Ibrox could take them into 2nd place on their own and leave them a straight shoot-out in Germany on the last Matchday between themselves and Unirea. So it’s all to play for for them too. And what better way to kick-start your season than a game at a side who’ve already been horsed 4-1 in their two previous home matches?

Surprisingly, the bookies make the Germans favourites at a best priced 17/10 (Bet365) to claim all three points.

This looks a tough one to call and everything is pointing to it being all square. Rangers simply cannot be as bad as they were against Unirea at Ibrox and Stuttgart have already managed three draws in the campaign. The German side are poor but Rangers are no great shakes either. It’s unlikely to be a sell-out either so home advantage may not be a crucial deciding factor. If pushed, I’d take the 12/5 (Expekt, Skybet) on this one finishing level. Another 1-1 scoreline has it’s appeal too but at just 11/2 (general) and 6/1 (Betfair) it’s hardly going to allow us to retire.

Let me know how you think this one will go.

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