Servette Geneva vs Rangers Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 13/08/2023, 09:55  by Devesh Jaganath in Champions League Predictions

Servette and Rangers will face off in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday evening. The winner of this tie will take on either PSV or Sturm Graz in the playoff round. Rangers currently lead the tie 2-1 with goals by James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers in the first leg. The Scottish Premiership side dominated the first match, maintaining 69% of the possession, and created the bulk of the chances with 22 shots at goal and eight on target. The visitors suffered an unexpected 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock on the opening day of the league season but bounced back well against Livingston, securing a 4-0 win last weekend. Rangers qualified for the group stages of the Champions League last season and were drawn into Group A along with Napoli, Liverpool, and Ajax. However, they failed to win any of their six group-stage matches and finished bottom of their group. Still, they have the experience in this competition and a one-goal advantage, which see them head into the match as the bookmakers favourite. 

Meanwhile, Servette have had a difficult start to the 2023-24 season. The Swiss outfit scraped past Genk on penalties in the last round of qualifying and were noticeably second-best in the first leg of this tie last week. However, the issues have not been confined to just this competition, as they have only managed one win in their first four Super League matches this term. The hosts are currently fourth in the league standings and come into this match following a 1-1 home draw to St Gallen. That result also meant that they have failed to any of their last six matches in all competitions. Servette have never qualified for the Champions League group stages and are making their first appearance in these qualifiers since 1999-00. The odds are stacked against them, but an early goal in front of their home fans could set this one up for a grandstand finish.