Europa League preview: Rangers and Napoli looking to stun European giants

The Europa League is back on Thursday with things heating up in the play-offs round and all eyes on Rangers v Borussia Dortmund and Napoli v Barcelona.

Ahead of the action, we’ve taken a look at the standout games below.

Rangers v Borussia Dortmund

Rangers will be swaggering into Ibrox this Thursday after stunning the Europa League with a huge display in Dortmund last week, walking away with a 4-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the opening leg.

While the result shook Europe, those in-the-know in Glasgow were a wee bit less surprised. Rangers have pedigree in the Europa League, progressing in 10 of their last 14 two-legged battles.

The pressure will certainly be on Rangers to hold onto the lead they have established, but historical form may be another ray of light for the Blues. Seven away games against Scottish teams have resulted in four losses for Dortmund, making Thursday night’s task just that bit bigger for the German side.

Further to that, only one team in the history of the Europa League has ever won the first leg by more than one goal and then failed to progress. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men are 16/5 to produce another victory on the night and 1/3 to qualify for the next round.

While Dortmund are certainly on the back foot, they managed to get things back on track at the weekend, putting six past Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Marco Reus chipping in with a brace.

Marco Rose may have another ace up his sleeve. Erling Haaland is back in contention for the trip to Scotland. With an astonishing record of 23 goals in 20 appearances in major European competition, the striker could well have the firepower to get Dortmund over the line. Haaland is 9/1 to provide a hat-trick on the night, while Dortmund are 9/4 to progress to the next round.

Napoli v Barcelona

Moving to Italy and things are more evenly poised, with Napoli’s 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp keeping things very interesting.

Naples has rarely been a happy hunting ground for Spanish clubs in the past. In 10 attempts, only one Spanish side have ever won away at Napoli. Further to that, while Barcelona have wins over six Italian sides over the years, Napoli and Roma are the remaining elusive scalps. Napoli are priced at 17/10 to frustrate Barca further with victory on the night and are 4/5 to progress to the next round.

In years gone by, keeping the Catalan giants at bay would have seemed like an impossible task, but this current Barcelona side are not the same free-scoring behemoth they once were. One goal from 21 attempts in the first leg suggests that they could do with more firepower, and it seems like they may have just that now.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Barca from Arsenal in the January window and has got off to a flyer, netting a hat-trick in his first start for his new club at the weekend. Further to that, the Gabonese hitman has scored an impressive 25 goals in 49 games in the competition – more than any other African player in history.

Enhanced odds on Aubameyang to score first in 90 minutes are available at 5/1, having previously been 4/1, while Barca are 10/11 to reach the next round.

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