Rangers will look to protect their slender advantage when they face Servette in the second leg of their third-round UEFA Champions League qualifying game. The winner of this match will compete with PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz for a spot in the group stage. Michael Beale’s team edged a tight match 2-1 at Ibrox last week.
Preview (Servette vs Rangers)
During the first leg of last week’s match against Servette, the mandatory James Tavernier penalty propelled Rangers into the lead after only six minutes. Servette’s supporters must have feared the worst when Cyriel Dessers increased the hosts’ lead at the 15-minute mark. A one-goal deficit is hardly insurmountable for Servette to overcome at the Stade de Geneve. Tavernier went from the hero in one penalty area to the villain in his own. His handball allowed Chris Bedia to cut the lead in half just before halftime from 12 yards.
Young Boys rode off into the sunset during the 2022–23 Swiss Super League campaign. They won the championship and earned a spot in the Champions League playoff round. Servette advanced to the second round of Europe’s top competition by defeating Europa League-bound Lugano. Les Grenats have yet to play in the Champions League group stage since the competition’s rebranding. Their domestic record does not inspire much confidence that they can make history this time around. They also had unsuccessful qualifying attempts in 1994 and 1999.
The Gers did lose in the first leg to the Swedish juggernauts on both occasions, but they did suffer a third-round qualification loss as recently as the 2021–22 season, when Malmo eliminated them. Malmo also eliminated the Gers at this level in 2011. Rangers may be in line for a rematch with PSV in the playoff round of last season, barring an outstanding Servette comeback in Geneva. PSV succumbed to the Gers’ domination before the Scottish team failed to maintain that momentum into the group round.
Team News
Despite losing midfielder David Douline to a 59th-minute red card after the Frenchman committed two bookable offenses, Servette was able to keep the score reasonable at Ibrox. after Douline serves his sentence on Tuesday, Samba Diba should start in the middle, after first-leg captain Steve Rouiller was substituted shortly before the end due to a terrible head injury that required stitches. In contrast to the injured Jeremy Frick, Keigo Tsunemoto, Theo Magnin, Alexis Antunes, Alexander Lyng, and Miroslav Stevanovic, the confident 33-year-old has stated that he will be fine to compete this week.
As previously indicated, despite the absence of two more first-team regulars in Ryan Jack, John Lundstram, and Connor Goldson due to various reasons, Rangers dispatched Livingston. The visitors still have to deal with some defensive concerns before traveling to Geneva. Ben Davies (knock), Leon King (ankle), and all of Ridvan Yilmaz are occupying beds in the recovery area. Leon Balogun’s spot in the starting XI could be in jeopardy of Goldson’s expected comeback.
Servette are swiftly becoming known as Switzerland’s draw experts, but the hosts need to win if they want to continue their European journey, and Beale’s thin backline needs to get ready for a flurry of Grenats raids. Servette’s injuries won’t help them either, but with Rangers regaining their winning ways against Livingston, we may expect a score similar to that of the first leg, securing the Scottish giants a playoff date with PSV or Sturm Graz.
Servette 1 – 2 Rangers
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