Champions League: Battle of Britain Part Two 

Rangers FC vs Liverpool

It’s back on again… Rangers and Liverpool’s Champions League clash at Ibrox Stadium on Wednesday is round two of the fight for superiority in the UK.

The pre-match Champions League 2022 betting odds say the Reds are going to win and it’s difficult to argue with that when you look at the comparative riches of the two clubs. Liverpool are one of the most successful and best-supported teams on the planet, while Glasgow Rangers are one of the top two in Scotland, a Premier League which contains minnows such as Ross County and their 6,000-capacity stadium up in the Highlands.

Such is the lack of competition north of the border that no team other than Rangers or Celtic has won the league since Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen to the title in 1985.  

In contrast Liverpool are in the richest and most watched league in the world and the Merseyside club can attract the very best talent.

Can we make a case for the Scots?

Well, the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool last week rather flattered Rangers but they recovered well to hammer St Mirren 4-0 at the weekend, while the Reds went down in a five-goal thriller to Premier League leaders Arsenal, so current form gives the Gers a little bit of hope.  

Talking Points

Firmino to start for Premier League strugglers?  

One of the biggest puzzles for the SBOTOP football team at the moment is the situation at Anfield where Liverpool find themselves languishing in mid-table in the Premier League. 

The Reds went to the Emirates on Saturday with high hopes of proving that they are not about to fall away from the Premier League elite group, but they went down to Arsenal 3-2 and are now 14 points off the pace.

Klopp started with the same 11 which beat Rangers 2-0 and a front line of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez. Now that’s a frightening front four for sure, but it was substitute Roberto Firmino who climbed off the bench to make it 2-2 against the Gunners and he is top scoring for Liverpool in the league with six goals. The Brazilian forward has also made three assists in his seven appearances and those stats give Klopp a real dilemma.

Should he start with Firmino? I’d say ‘yes’, but who does he bench? Diaz is an exciting talent and Jota is a clever player, while Nunez looks like he could become a prolific striker with comparative success to Salah in good time.

The Reds are still fourth favourites to win the 2022/23 Champions League, at odds of 8.50, and this game should open the door to the knockout phase, but as the season  progresses Klopp needs to find the right mix, in Europe and England. 

Rangers have nothing to lose 

The Gers are currently trailing Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, but by only two points. They have been in good form in the league, also beating Hearts 4-0 on the other side of their loss to Klopp’s Liverpool.

Head coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst led Rangers to the 2022 Europa League final where they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt and he’ll tell his team to fear nothing when Liverpool arrive on Wednesday. They will have a passionate crowd behind them and players who will run through a brick wall for the cause.  

Captain Fantastic James Tavernier will be alongside former Liverpool defender Ben Davies in the centre of defence while midfield general John Lundstram will patrol the centre of the park. It is these players who can stand up to the Reds who despite registering 22 shots and ten on target last week, only breached the Scots’ defence twice. 

History

These two UK giants have only met twice before last week and each won one, so while the head to head results give Klopp’s team a slight edge it doesn’t tell us much.

Recent form is a little more revealing as neither team is hitting the high notes, Rangers winning three and losing three of the last six, in all competitions, while Liverpool have won two, lost two and drawn two over that period.

Rangers’ Champions League 2022 results have not been great as they have lost all three of their group games so far, whereas Liverpool have failed to win any of their last six away games.   

Betting Tip 

Rangers are at 6.95 to win or 5.41 to draw and either of those results would be another disappointment for Liverpool, who really should come through at a price of 1.31.And another 2-0 to Liverpool, at odds of 6.76, is the most likely outcome, which makes a lot of sense to me.

 

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