Servette v Rangers preview: Advantage Gers in European showdown
Servette may argue it’s about time that the club from the watchmaking capital of the world qualify for their maiden UCL group stage, but they’ll need to wind themselves up and make every second count in this monumental face-off.
The omens aren’t great for Servette if recent form is anything to go by as they’ve failed to win any of their last six matches within regulation time (D5, L1).
There is a solid foundation to build on for the Swiss at least, as the Maroons haven’t lost a home game in 90 minutes since March (W3, D7).
They’ll have to boost that win column if they’re to advance here, and fans of a certain age may remember the only prior time Servette faced Scottish opponents, a 1-0 aggregate loss to Aberdeen way back in 1985/86, a tie in which they unsurprisingly drew the home leg!
Visiting boss Michael Beale has relieved some of the pressure on himself after following up a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in their SPL curtain raiser with a return of six goals in two victories.
That’s largely thanks to Rangers’ new-look front three of Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, and Danilo, and the trio bring some much-needed Dutch dynamism to the team, with all three spending time with Eredivisie’s “big three” sides across the last few years.
Further success is far from guaranteed though, with Rangers’ recent away record in European competition leaving much to be desired (W1, L7).
Granted, each of the four games in that sequence which were part of a two-legged knockout affair saw Rangers progress with an emphatic home win, but they simply don’t have such luxury this time around.
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Players to watch: Chris Bedia has displayed mechanical precision in front of goal, with his first-leg penalty strike playing part of seven goal contributions in as many appearances this term (G6, A1).
It took just ten minutes for Lammers to score his first Rangers goal over the weekend, and he also scored in UCL qualifying against Swiss side Basel for PSV back in 2019/20.
Hot stat: Rangers’ first-leg win was just their third victory in nine clashes with Swiss opposition (W3, D3, L3).
