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UEFA Cup Final Betting: A Rangers fan's thoughts on Wednesday's big match

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Lifelong Rangers supporter John Girvan goes through the Cup final odds

Zenit St Petersburg lie between Rangers and their first piece of European silverware since John Greig MBE captained the side to victory over Moscow Dynamo in the 1972 European Cup Winners Cup Final in Barcelona.

The City of Manchester Stadium is the venue for this one so it's a relatively short journey for the team and also the 100,000 supporters who are expected to follow the side south.

The Russians are favourites in the outright market on [1.66] at present with Rangers out at [2.5]. This is a position Rangers will be comfortable with as they have been underdogs in each of the last four rounds against Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and of course Fiorentina. Their opponents were also the outsiders as they manoeuvred their way past Villarreal, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen and the mighty Bayern Munich so how will they cope with the not so familiar favourites tag?

They certainly won't be feeling tired since the Russian FA postponed all of their domestic fixtures between the semi-final 2nd leg thumping of Bayern Munich and the final. They did however play a friendly at the weekend in manger Dick Advocaat's native Holland and managed a 2-2 draw with AZ Alkmaar. Pavel Pogrebnyak came off the bench to net St Petersburg's second but the striker who is joint top scorer in the competition with Luca Toni on 10 goals is suspended for the final and this will be a huge boost for Rangers.

There was a fitness worry surrounding Kevin Thomson after the weekend but the midfielder should make it in time to forge a central trio with Brahim Hemdani and Captain Barry Ferguson. Steve Davis will provide drive from one of the wide positions and with Jean Claude Darcheville likely to be the lone man up front this could leave manager Walter Smith with only two remaining berths for Kirk Broadfoot, Steven Whittaker and Nacho Novo.

Novo has been an effective substitute this season but he has been a more regular starter recently. His contribution on Saturday's home game with Dundee United simply cannot be ignored, combining sheer effort and determination with the classy finish for Rangers second in the 3-1 win.

Whittaker is benefiting from a run in the team and has performed well in the last few rounds of this competition but if Novo starts the only place left for him would be in place of Broadfoot at right back. Smith likes a settled defence but he may be tempted to opt for Whittaker's pace here and slot him into a back four with regulars Weir, Cuellar and Sasa Papac. I would certainly like to see this happen.

Whether or not this match finishes in 90 minutes or not is anyone's guess really. There is value to be had if you have a hunch either way here as "favourites" Zenit sit out at [2.36] in the match odds with Rangers an even bigger [3.65] and those who fancy the match to go to extra time may like the look of the [3.25] on offer. For me the Asian Handicap Market offers the best value on Rangers however and I like the look of Rangers -0 at [2.49] as extra-time could well be required.

As a supporter the last thing I want to see is Rangers conceding first obviously - but it's paramount for the current side that they don't. Rangers' win are based on a sound defence, scoring the first goal and then hopefully nicking a second late on. With that in mind, the 2-0 is catching my eye in the correct score market at [23.0]. A 3-2 Gers win, just like in Barcelona, is certainly one for the nostalgic amongst us and might be worth a tiny nibble at [60.0] as history has a habit of repeating itself now and again.

The supporters really can be a 12th man for Rangers here. Ok, it's a bit of a football cliché but even ex-Rangers boss Dick Advocaat has admitted as much saying the match will be like a home game for Rangers. At home in this competition Rangers have played to concede nothing and snatch what they can up front and I don't see it being any different here.