- 1 Rangers vs Jablonec : Ibrox could decide their European season
- 2 Rangers : a first win that changes the mood
- 3 Jablonec : three wins from three and no pressure
- 4 Conference League prediction Rangers vs Jablonec
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Rangers vs Jablonec : Ibrox could decide their European season 
Rangers had to wait until their fifth competitive outing to get a win. The 5-1 demolition of St Mirren on Sunday finally snapped a nervy start to the campaign.
That result comes just in time for Thursday’s Conference League playoff first leg against Jablonec at Ibrox. The timing could hardly be better for Derek McInnes.
The Glasgow club ended up here after being dumped out of the Europa League by Jagiellonia Białystok. They lost 2-1 in Poland, then were held 1-1 at home, and went out 3-2 on aggregate.
That exit left their manager under immediate pressure. This tie now shapes the rest of their European season.
Jablonec, by contrast, have been building momentum since July. The Czech side beat Varaždin 4-3 and then saw off Latvia’s RFS 4-1 over two legs to reach the play-offs.
Their manager Luboš Kozel even fired a warning shot before the game, saying the weight of expectation in Glasgow sits firmly on the Scottish side. The message did not go unnoticed in Britain.
Lose this tie and Rangers are out of Europe for the season. Win it and they move into the league phase, along with the cash that comes with it.
The winners go straight into the Conference League league phase. The losers are done with European football for the rest of the season.
For Rangers, this is about money as much as pride. An exit would wipe out the continental income the club had been banking on.
Jablonec, meanwhile, have nothing to lose. The Czech side arrive as outsiders, and they will quite like it that way.
Rangers : a first win that changes the mood 
Four competitive matches, no wins, then a 5-1 blast in the Premier Sports Cup. The contrast is stark for Rangers.
Ryan Naderi opened the scoring in the ninth minute from close range. Vanja Dragojevic made it two on 18 minutes with a thunderous 25-yard strike, his first goal since arriving from Partizan Belgrade.
Chris Mochrie pulled one back for St Mirren on the half-hour. Then Djeidi Gassama and debutant James Penrice struck twice in as many minutes to put the contest to bed.
Ivor Pandur saved a Killian Phillips penalty, and then saved the retake too, before Ross McCausland added a fifth on 74 minutes. It was the sort of night Rangers had been waiting for.
The injury list is still a headache. Youssef Chermiti, Ben Godfrey and José Cifuentes are among the absentees.
The real takeaway from Sunday was the finishing. Five goals after four winless games suggests the problem was more in the head than in the system. Now they have to do it against better organised European opposition.
Ibrox is still a major asset on nights like this. Rangers did draw with Jagiellonia there, though, which is a reminder that the stadium no longer does all the work on its own.
The schedule is relentless. After this first leg, they host St Mirren in the league on 22 August before heading to the Czech Republic for the return.
The big question is defensive steel. In their first five competitive games, Rangers have not managed to go back-to-back without conceding.
What they do at Ibrox could define the tie. Another draw like the one against Jagiellonia would leave Jablonec in a very decent spot.
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Jablonec : three wins from three and no pressure 
The Czech club have taken maximum points from their first three league matches. A perfect start, just as the biggest game of their season arrives.
Their European run has followed the same pattern. Beaten 3-2 away by Varaždin in the second qualifying round, Jablonec turned it around with a 2-0 win at home.
The third round was more comfortable. A 2-0 home win over RFS was followed by a 2-1 victory in Latvia for a 4-1 aggregate success.
They are scoring two goals a game in Europe and have not gone quietly in any tie so far. Every time they have been hit, they have hit back.
Kozel has also handled the psychology well. By talking up Rangers’ level of expectation before the match, he has sent his team to Glasgow with little burden on their shoulders.
That underdog role suits them. They sit deep, break quickly and wait for their moment.
Their biggest danger is leaving with the tie already out of reach. Across the previous two rounds, they never conceded more than three in a single leg.
Jablonec have not lost two matches in a row this season in any competition. That consistency is their main weapon.
Their European record is built on response, not panic. After going 3-2 down to Varaždin in the first leg, they answered with a clean 2-0 win at home.
Still, Ibrox is a different beast altogether. Neither Varaždin nor RFS could offer anything like this stage.
Probable Rangers line-up: Not announced at the time of publication.
Probable Jablonec line-up: Not announced at the time of publication.
Conference League prediction Rangers vs Jablonec
Our prediction: Rangers to win
The 5-1 against St Mirren finally unlocked a side that had been struggling to finish. Naderi, Dragojevic, Gassama, Penrice and McCausland all scored on the same night, which points to real attacking depth.
Jablonec are solid, but they are a level below in individual quality, and their European run has come against weaker opposition than Rangers. At Ibrox, with the need to build a lead before the return in the Czech Republic, the balance tilts firmly towards the home side.
Rangers should get it done on Thursday night.
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