Kick-off: 1915, 16/08/2018
Stadium: Stadion Ljudski vrt
Rangers have a golden chance of making the Europa League play-offs as they take a 3-1 lead to Slovenia for the second leg of their tie with NK Maribor.
Steven Gerrard’s side have already managed to grind out positive results at Shkupi and Osijek in this competition, securing a goalless draw in Macedonia and a 1-0 triumph in Croatia.
More of the same resilience can see them claim another stalemate at Stadion Ljudski vrt and 11/5 for that outcome is our initial NK Maribor vs Rangers prediction.
A Look At NK Maribor’s Betting Odds
Maribor are still in the tie after Mitja Viler took advantage of a sloppy first-half display from Rangers at Ibrox, equalising an early effort from Alfredo Morelos.
However, a 50th-minute penalty from James Tavernier and Lassana Coulibaly’s late header have left them with plenty of work to do.
Darko Milanic’s side have since fired out a warning by beating domestic rivals ND HIT Gorica 5-0 at this venue to set the pace in the Slovenian league with 10 points from four fixtures.
Last season’s Champions League form here was also fair, with 1-1 home draws against Spartak Moscow and Sevilla, even if Liverpool romped to a freak 7-0 triumph in between.
We still feel Rangers are capable of holding their own in the return fixture, though.
Looking at the NK Maribor vs Rangers odds, there is plenty of appeal in 23/4 for a 1-1 stalemate.
A Look At Rangers’ Betting Odds
Rangers followed up that first-leg victory by beating St Mirren 2-0 in the Scottish Premiership and Gerrard really does look to have improved their consistency since coming in.
Looking back on the opening clash with Maribor, he said: “We started the game pretty well and deserved to go in front.
“But then something didn’t feel right from about 15-20 minutes until half-time. People were jumping out of slots to go press on their own and it didn’t look right for 20 minutes.
“But we corrected it at half-time and we were sensational from then on and thoroughly deserved to come away with a 3-1 lead.
“The second 45 is the best we’ve seen from Rangers so far. It’s very close to how we want it to look.”
Gerrard has brought focus and determination to a fractured club and that can continue to pay dividends here.
Let’s complete our NK Maribor vs Rangers betting tips by taking 27/2 for the visitors to lead at the break, before settling for a draw that sends them comfortably through.
Additional stats
Last result:
NK MARIBOR 5-0 Gorica – Jan Mlakar, Luka Zahovic, Sasa Ivkovic, Dare Vrsic, Marcos Tavares
RANGERS 2-0 St Mirren – Alfredo Morelos, Connor Goldson
Head-to-head: Rangers 3-1 Maribor, Rangers 1-1 Maribor, Maribor 2-1 Rangers, Rangers 3-1 Maribor, Maribor 0-3 Rangers
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