Manchester United vs Rangers Prediction 23 January 2025

🔊 Who will manage to keep their place in the top-8? In the 7th round of the Europa League, two of the most renowned British teams will face off - Manchester United will host Glasgow Rangers at Old Trafford. The hosts are considered favorites, and by a significant margin, but given Ruben Amorim's side's inherent instability, there can be no certainty in their victory. In our prediction, we will analyze the chances of the Scottish giant to take points from the Foggy Albion.

📊 Head-to-Head

In official matches, the teams have not crossed paths for a very long time - since 2010. Back then, they were in the same Champions League group and scored only one goal between them in two meetings, credited to Wayne Rooney. However, it is worth mentioning a friendly game that took place ahead of the current season. In it, the "Red Devils" were stronger with a score of 2:0. Interestingly, the entire history of head-to-head encounters between MU and Rangers counts five matches, and the opponents have never exchanged goals.

🔴 Manchester United

While in the domestic arena, United's situation is bleak (13th in the Premier League table), in the Europa League, they have every chance to mark the group stage as a success. At the start of the tournament, the "Red Devils" dropped points three times in a row, but after Erik ten Hag's dismissal, they made no more slip-ups. Although it should be noted that victories over PAOK (2:0), Bodo/Glimt (3:2), and Viktoria Plzen (2:1) were not easy for them. Ruben Amorim admits that players have yet to adapt to his style, leading to simple mistakes. Moreover, after losing to Brighton (1:3), the Portuguese stated that his team might be the worst in Manchester United's history. It's also important to consider some injury issues for the hosts. Mount, Shaw, Evans, and Lindelof are currently out, limiting rotation options.

🔵 Rangers

It can already be said that the "Rangers" have failed their season on the domestic front. They are 13 points behind Celtic, so taking the championship title from their principled rival is out of the question. However, in the Europa League, Philippe Clement's protégés are performing quite well. They have suffered only one defeat, against Lyon (1:4), despite facing several other formidable opponents. For example, the match against Tottenham ended in a draw (1:1), and another representative of French Ligue 1, Nice, was thrashed by the "Teddy Bears" with a score of 4:1. The team is currently in excellent form and is on a seven-match unbeaten streak but faces serious squad issues ahead of the upcoming game. The absence of Butland, Souttar, Sterling, Lawrence, and Diomande will be hard to ignore.

⚽️ Prediction on Goals

Rangers have been scoring quite a lot recently, especially in the first 45 minutes, having scored during this period in 6 consecutive matches. MU, on the other hand, regularly concedes before halftime at Old Trafford - already in 5 matches in a row. Therefore, a bet on a goal by the visitors in the 1st half is attractive from an odds perspective and makes sense.

🚩 Prediction on Corners

The "Red Devils" deliver more than 6.5 corners in 6 of their last 7 home matches. This is a strong trend, especially considering that this is their average figure in the current Europa League campaign. The hosts should control the initiative for most of the match; hence a bet on total over 6.5 corners by Manchester United seems logical.

📝 Match Prediction

If MU wins, they will almost certainly secure a ticket to the round of 16, but achieving this victory will be very challenging. Rangers are in good form and will come to Old Trafford not just to make up numbers but to maintain their position in the top-8. Since the "Red Devils" are currently struggling with virtually any opponent, we foresee a draw as the outcome of this match. It should be a high-scoring draw because both teams have these trends: total over 2.5 goals has played out in 7 of the last 8 home matches for the "Red Devils" and in 7 of the previous 8 games for the "Rangers" on any field. Thus, a 2:2 scoreline emerges from which we recommend betting on "over" in terms of goals scored.