Rangers are bottom of their Europa League group and have lost all four matches in the competition, but the change of head coach could push the team towards success. They come up against Sporting Braga, who in contrast rank among the top five teams in the Europa League this season and have only slipped up in the match against Genk.
Rangers
Since Danny Röhl took charge, Rangers have steadied themselves: four wins from four league matches, although they lost 1:3 to Celtic in the Scottish League Cup semi-final. In the Europa League, however, it has been a catastrophe: zero points after four rounds, bottom of the group with a goal difference of 1:8. Yet in attack the squad have not been that poor: in all four matches they generated at least 0.9 xG and in three of them they had more possession. The issues are in defence, where they have allowed 9.81 xGA and conceded eight goals.
Sporting Braga
Sporting Braga are seventh in the Portuguese league, seven points off the top four, but two wins give them hope of recovery. In the Europa League, the Portuguese side are fifth with nine points from four rounds and have kept three clean sheets. In attack, there are no questions about them under Carlos Vicens – they have scored eight goals, but the defence let them down in their last match. Against Genk there was a high-scoring match (3:4) in which the visitors trailed 1:3 and almost fought back to earn a draw. Moreover, Braga have seen both teams score in each of their last four matches in all competitions.
Rangers vs Sporting Braga Prediction
Rangers have come to life under their new head coach and are showing a decent attacking game in recent matches. Sporting Braga, although they started brightly, have revealed weaknesses in their defensive play. We expect both teams to score in this match.
