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UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup Betting: Rangers v Sporting Lisbon. 03/04/08, Kick-off 19:45 BST

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The last time Rangers met Sporting Lisbon there was a total of 12 goals in the tie. Alsy assesses the likelihood of a feast of goals in tonight's first leg at Ibrox.

Rangers and Sporting Lisbon have history in Europe and what a story it is! The two sides previously met in 1971-72 in the Cup Winner Cup when the Scots eventually progressed after a 6-6 (yes... you did read that correctly) aggregate scoreline. In recent rounds Rangers' progress in this year's UEFA Cup has been notable for impressive second-leg performances away from home but I doubt Walter Smith's heart couldn't handle a 1970s repeat performance.

For the third time in a row, Rangers will host their UEFA Cup opponents first in a two-legged tie but they will need to improve on their finishing if they are to take another step towards the Manchester final. European football is tough enough without maximising home advantage so there can be no repeat of the game against Panathinaikos. In that game at Ibrox a host of chances were wasted and only a late away goal enabled them to shoplift an aggregate victory in Greece.

Current form suggests that the Glaswegians have a slight edge on their Portuguese visitors. Rangers guard a narrow points lead over Celtic in the Scottish Premier League but in Portugal, Sporting are in fifth place and a massive twenty points behind leaders and fierce rivals Porto.
Both clubs ultimately have their eye of larger European prizes but in truth neither have the resources (or personnel required) to compete with the top tier of Europe's elite just yet.

With clubs like PSV, Fiorentina and Bayern Munich still in the competition the UEFA Cup still boasts some genuine big beasts. Bayern remain favourites and can be backed at [2.76] to win but at this stage of the competition several remaining clubs have a decent chance of reaching the final and Rangers and Sporting number among them. Primarily, Paulo Benot will prepare his side for defence at Ibrox on Thursday night but will expect them to cause Rangers problems on the break with plenty of pace up front.

Sporting recently crashed out of one Cup at home and they face a tough match against Benfica in the Portuguese Cup semi-final. They still have a good chance of securing third-place and a spot in next season's Champions League so Benot will ensure that his team focus on Rangers in the short term.

Sporting now have key striker Liedson available. The Brazilian is finally fit and in an impressive vein of form, netting four in his last two games. With bags of pace and an ability to convert half-chances into goals, Liedson has all the necessary skills to ensure he never receives Christmas cards from opposing centre backs. The good news for Rangers is that he's likely to play as a lone striker while none of his colleagues compare as a goal threat. Best of all, the superb form of Carlos Cuellar at the heart of Rangers defence should nullify the danger for the home side.

You can back Sporting Lisbon to win the first-leg at [4.3] but despite the return of Liedson I believe Rangers will prove too resolute and ultimately emerge victorious. To that end, you can back Rangers at [2.1] and with no major injuries (barring the troublesome toe of Christian Dailly) I think it's a good price.

Smith will send his team out to attack (a vociferous home crowd will never accept anything less) but not at any price. Sporting will feel confident of their chances on the return leg so Smith's first duty will be to prevent any away goals. A solid defence and a dominant midfield marshalled by Ferguson should provide plenty of opportunities to score.

I think Rangers will take their chances and score so I'd back them to secure a 1-0 victory at [7.2]. For any Sporting fans I think an away goal is the best that can be hoped for and would back a 2-1 scoreline at [10.5]. That's a great price and a great platform for the return leg in Portugal.