Liverpool v Rangers: Reds to relish Teddy Bears tussle

• Liverpool have won 13 of their last 15 home Champions League group games
• Roberto Firmino is the Reds' leading marksmen this season
• Merseysiders should prove too strong for the Ibrox outfit
• Punters can get a £5 free bet when they place their own £5 Bet Builder on this match

Liverpool v Rangers
Tuesday 04 October, 20:00
Live on BT Sport

Liverpool held at home

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool are "under pressure" as they bid to turnaround an alarming start to 2022/23.

For the fifth time in seven Premier League games this season, the Reds conceded the first goal on Saturday; in fact, the Merseysiders were forced to battle back from 2-0 down but were still only able to take a share of the spoils in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

The point leaves Liverpool ninth in the table and 11 points behind league leaders Arsenal - albeit with a game in-hand.

The Reds have managed just two triumphs in league action and Klopp knows his side need to rediscover what is missing as quickly as possible if they're to remain competitive in the race for domestic and European honours.

Speaking post-match, Klopp said, "We weren't convincing enough. I could not say I was 100% convinced we wouldn't concede. We have to fight through this. The boys can play much better. We need stability, consistency and top defending. We want to do better, we want more points, we want to be higher up in the table. We have to keep working."

Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate are both expected to miss out again in midweek with a return date set for Sunday's showdown against Arsenal.

Rangers return to form

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst welcomed the return to scoring form of two key forwards as the Teddy Bears delivered an impressive dismissal of 10-man Hearts on Saturday.

Ryan Kent ended his 22-game drought to crown the 4-0 Scottish Premiership victory after Alfredo Morelos came on to net just his second this season.

Antonio Colak had continued his prolific start with a double before the hosts saw Cammy Devlin dismissed.

The Ibrox side remain just two points shy of their Old Firm rivals Celtic following their sixth league success of the season so far with Van Bronckhorst full of praise for his players post-match.

"It's really positive that Morelos and Kent were on the scoresheet, because we need as many goals as we can get," Van Bronckhorst said. "It's good to see different players on the scoresheet and Colak's performance was really good. Apart from his goals, he is very important the way he puts energy in the team. This sets up nicely for Tuesday," he added.

The visitors are likely to freshen their XI up for Tuesday night's tussle with Ridvan Yilmaz in the running for a return at left-back.

Elsewhere, Malik Tillman is expected to come in for Scott Arfield in a 4-2-3-1 system for the Govan group. James Sands is suspended.

Merseysiders red-hot favourites

Despite dominating their domestic leagues for large swathes of the last century, Liverpool and Rangers are locking horns for the very first time in European competition.

The Reds have tended to enjoy their previous encounters when welcoming Scottish opposition, boasting a W3-D2-L1 return at Anfield but are winless in their last three such contests.

Liverpool 1.192/11 recovered from their Napoli horror-show on MD1 to pick up maximum points from their Anfield encounter against Ajax in their last Champions League outing.

The Reds were 2-1 victors last month but the scoreline didn't reflect the Merseysiders' dominance as they won the shot count 24-3 and generated 2.22 Expected Goals (xG).

Rangers 20.0019/1 have endured a rotten return to Europe's premier club competition.

The Glasgow giants were annihilated in Amsterdam by Ajax (0-4) in their opener before succumbing to a 0-3 reverse when welcoming Napoli to Ibrox on MD2. The Teddy Bears battled bravely against the Serie A leaders but James Sands' red card proved decisive.

Firmino can lead Liverpool to victory

The market is clearly anticipating a landslide Liverpool victory here with Over 2.5 Goals trading at just 1.341/3 and the Asian Handicap running off a -2.0 & -2.5 mark. But a more appealing approach can be found by delving into the Bet Builder via the Sportsbook.

Liverpool have posted W13-D1-L1 in their past 15 home Champions League group games, scoring 36 goals in those 13 victories and backing the Reds to succeed again makes plenty of sense.

We can bolster the odds on offer by backing Roberto Firmino to score or assist, as well as ticking 'Yes' in the Goal Scored in Both Halves option for a 1.8810/11 shot.

Firmino is Liverpool's leading marksmen this term with five goals and has played a key role in creating three others.

The Brazilian boasts a 0.63 xG + xA output per-90 minutes and should relish facing a Rangers rearguard that's already shipped seven goals in their first two Champions League group fixtures from Group A.

And remember, there is a £5 free bet up for grabs for punters who place a £5 Bet Builder on this match. Bet here!