Rangers beat Viktoria Plzen 4-2 on aggregate in the last round
Club Brugge beat Salzburg, also 4-2 on aggregate
Recommended bet: Club Brugge to win
Rangers can forget their domestic toils and hope a packed Ibrox will roar them to victory over Club Brugge in the first leg of their play-off round in the Champions League.
A place in the group stage awaits the victors and that is nothing new to the Belgians, who went on to reach the last 16 in 2024-25 and will hope those positive memories can inspire them to first-leg success in Glasgow.
Team news
Thelo Aasgard made his Rangers debut in Saturday's 4-2 win over Alloa and has been included in the squad for this tie.
Defender Jefte will not be involved so manager Russell Martin has been working to get new left-back Jayden Meghoma registered after his switch from Brentford.
Dujon Sterling is injured though Hamza Igamane and Cyril Dessers should be fit.
Brugge striker Christos Tzolis is linked with moves away from Belgium but is still on coach Nicky Hayen's squad list.
Defender Michal Skoros is out while Joel Ordonez, hotly linked with Marseiller, appears to still be at the club.
The stats
Rangers have failed to win four of their last six matches.
Brugge have won six of their seven matches this season and lost only one of their last 12.
Rangers have lost the corner count in all four European ties.
Brugge have scored 10 league and European goals this season, all of those coming in the second half.
The latest Rangers vs Club Brugge odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
It is crunch time for Rangers whose indifferent start to the season needs to be forgotten in their huge Champions League play-off round first-leg tie at home to Club Brugge.
Martin, already under intense pressure, knows the stakes are sky-high against the Belgians, who are European top-level regulars these days.
Good enough to draw across the city at Celtic 1-1 in last year's League Phase, and good enough to win other ties away at Sturm Graz and Atalanta, take Nicky Hayen's men to have the nous to deliver at Ibrox.
Brugge are going well with six wins in seven this season, including home and away to Salzburg in the last round, coming from 2-0 down at home to win 3-2.
As with Rangers, transfer talk at the Jan Breydel Stadium is confounding Hayen's planning, but his squad still looks strong enough to win in Glasgow, as they did at Zulte Waregem in the Pro League on Saturday where talented South African youngster Shandre Campbell scored a dreamy winner.
Rangers look uncomfortable at the moment and if Brugge box clever they can give themselves an advantage to protect on home soil next week.
Back Club Brugge to win at 21/20 with LiveScore Bet
The latest Rangers vs Club Brugge odds are available on LiveScore Bet
