Rangers will be looking to claim an advantage when they head to Belgium on Tuesday evening for the first leg of their third qualifying round Champions League contest with Union SG.
The Gers just missed out on automatic qualification for this season's European Cup by losing the 2021-22 Europa League final to Eintracht Frankfurt, while Union SG secured their spot in the third qualifying round of this season's tournament by finishing second in the champions playoff in Belgian First Division A in 2021-22.
Match preview
Union SG were only promoted back to the top flight of Belgian football in March 2021, with the Brussels outfit returning to the top tier for the first time in 48 years.
Not too many expected Karel Geraerts's side to make a strong impression in Belgian First Division A last term, but they finished top of the table at the end of the regular season, becoming the first side in Belgian history to manage that feat after earning promotion the previous campaign.
Union SG ultimately finished second behind Club Brugge in the champions playoff, which saw them book their spot in the Champions League third qualifying round.
There is no question that Les Unionistes will be the underdogs in this two-legged affair, but they are the third-most successful team in terms of top-tier Belgian championships, claiming 11, putting them behind Anderlecht (34) and Club Brugge (18).
Geraerts's side have already started their 2022-23 domestic campaign, picking up four points from their opening two matches, which has left them top of the table on four points.
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Rangers, meanwhile, opened their 2022-23 Scottish Premiership campaign with a 2-1 victory over Livingston on Saturday afternoon.
The Gers fell behind in the fifth minute of the contest, with Joel Nouble on the scoresheet, but Scott Arfield levelled in the 72nd minute before James Tavernier struck what proved to be the winner two minutes later.
Rangers, as mentioned, took part in last season's Europa League final, drawing 1-1 with Frankfurt after extra-time, with the German outfit ultimately winning 5-4 on penalties.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side have been active during this summer's transfer window, bringing in Ben Davies, Ridvan Yilmaz, Rabbi Matondo, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, John Souttar and Malik Tillman.
Rangers finished second in the Scottish Premiership last season, four points behind the champions Celtic, while they lost to Malmo in the third qualifying round of the 2021-22 Champions League, with their last appearance in the group stage of the European Cup coming back in 2010-11.
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Team News
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Union SG head coach Geraerts will need to make a final check on the fitness of his players following the 1-0 win over Sporting Charleroi in the league on Friday night.
However, the Belgian outfit have not reported any fresh concerns at this stage, so the bulk of the side that were involved in that contest should again take to the field here.
Dante Vanzeir and on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion forward Simon Adingra could feature as the front two, while there are likely to be spots in the XI for English duo Christian Burgess and Ross Sykes.
As for Rangers, Ianis Hagi is still out with a knee injury, while Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe remain absent, but Matondo has a chance of making the squad after missing out against St Johnstone.
New signing Colak led the line on Saturday, and the 28-year-old is again expected to operate at the tip of the attack for the visitors here.
The team could be largely similar to the one that started against St Johnstone, with Lawrence and Ryan Kent playing in support of Colak, but there could be a change down the right, with Tillman pushing for a start.
Union SG possible starting lineup:
Moris; Sykes, Burgess, Van der Hayden; Niuewkoop, Amani, Lynen, Teuma, Lapoussin; Adingra, Vanzeir
Rangers possible starting lineup:
McLaughlin; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Barisic; Kamara, Lundstram; Tillman, Lawrence, Kent; Colak
We say: Union SG 1-1 Rangers
Rangers will be the favourites to triumph over the two legs, but Union SG must be respected due to their impressive 2021-22 campaign. We are expecting the spoils to be shared in the first match on Tuesday but believe that Rangers will ultimately have enough to progress over the two legs.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 46.35%. A win for Union SG had a probability of 29.07% and a draw had a probability of 24.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.32%) and 0-2 (7.61%). The likeliest Union SG win was 1-0 (7.19%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.58%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 4.4% likelihood.
