Eintracht Frankfurt v Rangers predictions: Gers can end 50 years of hurt

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Eintracht Frankfurt v Rangers in the Europa League final in Seville.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1 & YouTube, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Rangers draw no bet
1pt 6-5 general

Team news

Eintracht Frankfurt
Evan Ndicka (muscle strain) and Tuta (knock) are doubts and Danny da Costa (groin), Martin Hinteregger, Jesper Lindstrom (both hamstring) and Diant Ramaj (knee) are sidelined.

Rangers
Kemar Roofe is trending in the right direction after training on Tuesday following a knee injury. Ryan Jack is expected to shake off a knock to start, but Filip Helander (foot) and Alfredo Morelos (thigh) are ruled out.

Match preview

Fifty years have passed since Rangers beat Dynamo Moscow in the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup final, but their long wait to secure a second major European trophy could come to an end in Seville when they take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final.

Gers will have been disappointed to relinquish the Scottish Premiership title to arch rivals Celtic, but their season may yet end in glory because Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side are contesting two major finals in the next four days.

They are warm favourites to defeat Hearts in Saturday's Scottish Cup final but are considered underdogs against Frankfurt in sweltering Seville, where the temperature is expect to be 30 degrees Celsius at kick-off.

Frankfurt, whose only moment of European glory came when beating Borussia Monchengladbach in the 1980 Uefa Cup final, finished 11th in the Bundesliga but have frequently raised their game on Europa League nights and sprang a major surprise with their 4-3 aggregate success over Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

Serbian winger Filip Kostic starred in their stunning 3-2 second-leg success at Camp Nou, scoring the first and third goals, but their Europa League progress has been a team effort based on strong defensive foundations.

However, their defensive prowess appears to have been weakened by injuries with Martin Hinteregger certain to miss the final and doubts over the fitness of Tuta and Evan Ndicka, who both appeared to be struggling when taken off during Saturday's 2-2 draw away to Mainz.

Offensively, their most productive Europa League player has been Daichi Kamada, who has netted five times in the competition, while Colombian centre-forward Rafael Borre topped their Bundesliga scoring charts with eight goals.

However, there is nothing especially frightening about Frankfurt's forward line and they may be lacking in confidence after ending the season without a victory in eight league games.

So despite what the layers may think, Rangers are certainly capable of upsetting the odds in Wednesday's showpiece.

They have already seen off Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig, who finished nine and seven places above Frankfurt respectively in the league, and Van Bronckhorst has received some excellent news on the injury front with key midfielder Ryan Jack in line to start and striker Kemar Roofe pushing to return to the squad.

Joe Aribo has functioned effectively as a makeshift centre-forward in recent weeks, but it can only be beneficial for Van Bronckhorst to have the more natural striking talents of Roofe up his sleeve.

Rangers play in a much weaker league than Frankfurt and face a step up in class every time they take to the European stage.

However, they have risen to the occasion numerous times on their journey to the final and they do so again in Seville, allowing Gers fans to celebrate what would be one of the greatest night's in the club's history.

Key stat

Rangers have won eight of their last ten matches.

Inside info

Eintracht Frankfurt

Penalty taker Filip Kostic
Free-kick wizard Filip Kostic
Set-piece aerial threat Tuta
Card magnet Djibril Sow

Rangers

Penalty taker James Tavernier/Kemar Roofe
Free-kick wizard James Tavernier
Set-piece aerial threat Connor Goldson
Card magnet James Tavernier

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