UEFA Cup Final Picks

The Rangers face Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester on Wednesday in the European Final - we have two selections from the big match.

Zenit St Petersburg v Rangers
UEFA Cup Final
Wednesday, 7.45 (UK time)

Glasgow Rangers make the short trip to Manchester on Wednesday for their first European Final in 36 years and face Russian side Zenit St Petersburg, one of the most exciting teams of the competition.

Zenit stunned runaway Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich with an awesome display of attacking football which saw them triumph 4-0 in the semi-final second leg and if they play the same way it will be very difficult for Rangers to win.
But what suggests Zenit won’t be as sharp this time is the suspension of striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, who is joint top scorer in the UEFA Cup with 10 goals (50% of Zenit’s total European tally this term). This is a massive blow to Zenit boss (and former Rangers manager) Dick Advocaat who, in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with AZ Alkmaar, struggled to find a suitable replacement. Pogrebnyak will obviously be sorely missed.

With the loss of Zenit’s main goal scorer, and the fact that Rangers have scored just five times in their last eight games, suggests the Final might not be a goalfest. It could easily be decided by a single goal either way.

On the flip side, Rangers have conceded just two goals in their last eight games and are unbeaten in their last four without letting in a single goal. And amazing 50% of Rangers’ games in this competition this season have ended 0-0.

The Russians on the other hand have scored 20 goals in their 12 UEFA games this season, and have scored three or more times in four of those. But they will lack firepower without Pogrebnyak.
In our opinion all this adds up to a cagey game with few goals so make a play that reflects the likely action.

Recommended Bets:
3pts on under 2.5 Goals at 8/15 or better.
1pt on Zenit St Petersburg to win 1-0 after 90 minutes at 6/1