Two teams looking to reach new European heights meet as Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt clash in the UEFA Europa League final in Seville, Spain.
While Celtic dominated the domestic season in Scotland, Rangers can make its own mark on the campaign through European play. They can become the first Scottish club to ever claim the UEFA Europa League and the second Scottish club since Celtic's 1967 European Cup triumph to claim a major European club trophy that still exists in some form today (Aberdeen won the 1983 Cup Winner's Cup which was discontinued in 1999).
Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, is in the club's first-ever Europa League final and third-ever European final after the 1960 European Cup and the 1980 UEFA Cup (the UEFA Cup was the precursor of the Europa League). The German side knocked off Barcelona on its path to Seville and has yet to lose a single time throughout this season's tournament.
The match promises to be an enthralling final for neutrals and supporters of two teams that love to score and punish teams on the break.
MORE: Six Frankfurt and Rangers players who could make Premier League moves
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rangers betting odds
Odds via DraftKings (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), and SkyBet (UK)
Eintracht Frankfurt is the slight favorite, but the betting market sees a final with razor-thin margins ahead.
While both these teams can score in bunches, the odds are still somewhat undecided as to how the game will play out. Both teams to score is a heavy favorite, but both sides of the 2.5 goals over/under is nearly dead even.
| USA (DraftKings) | Canada (Sports Interaction) | UK (SkyBet) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt Win (90 mins) | +135 | +163 | -150 |
| Draw (90 mins) | +250 | +205 | +240 |
| Rangers Win (90 mins) | +200 | +188 | +200 |
| Both teams to score Y / N | -150 / +120 | -159 / +101 | -138 / — |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals | -110 / -105 | -119 / -111 | -125 / -110 |
| Frankfurt -0.5 | +135 | +124 | — |
| Rangers +0.5 | -160 | -159 | — |
| Frankfurt to win title | -140 | -152 | -150 |
| Rangers to win title | +110 | +110 | +110 |
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rangers prediction
While the current odds paint the picture of an even affair, the numbers and intangibles don't agree. Those indicate that it will be Eintracht Frankfurt that will overwhelm the Scottish side in the end.
First off, the German club's supporters have traveled in droves both for this European campaign and in previous overseas trips, and this final should be no exception. Seville will be overwhelmed with German supporters, and while Rangers also travel well, the stadium should display a clear home-field advantage for one of the two.
Second, Eintracht Frankfurt has the more dangerous players. Filip Kostic has the most assists in the Europa League this season (5), and that's not just down to small sample size. His 9 assists in Bundesliga play are tied for eighth, but his 10.05 expected assists rank fifth. The Serbian now heads back to Spain where he had the self-proclaimed "best game of my life" against Barcelona.
Filip Kostić: "The best game of my career." 🦅#UEL pic.twitter.com/1EicYUkbqz
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 19, 2022
Rangers lost the first leg of both their quarterfinal and semifinal series, both on the road and both by 1-0 results. It required late heroics on both occasions to see Rangers through, with an extra-time aggregate-goal winner against Braga in the quarters followed by an 81st minute triumph against RB Leipzig. There will be no friendly home field confines to spur the team on this time, and the opponent is far more sturdy.
Frankfurt are a stellar close-game team in European competition. The German club hasn't been beaten in Europa League play this season at all, but an even closer look sees that a whopping 11 of their 12 Europa League matches have finished either level or with Frankfurt ahead by a single goal. Only a 3-1 win against Olympiacos in group stage play bucked the trend.
- Moneyline lean: Eintracht Frankfurt
- Scoreline prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Rangers
MORE: When does the 2022-23 Europa League season start?
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rangers best bets & expert analysis
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rangers best bet
This should be a close match between two very good teams in a competition known for chaos, so predicting the match is a difficult proposition. While the focus for this game has largely focused on the two teams' comparative attacking prowess, it's the defensive structure that sets them apart.
Eintracht Frankfurt has kept just two clean sheets all Europa League campaign, but limiting the damage has seen the club concede two or more goals just twice as well. The loss of center back Martin Hinteregger for the remainder of the season hurts, but Evan Ndicka's stock has soared this season, and fellow 22-year-old Tuta has done his best defensive work in the Europa League. Ndicka is SofaScore's eighth-best defender in the Bundesliga this season, while Tuta has completed more tackles than anyone else in Europa League play.
Rangers, meanwhile, have had a few big performances of late, but also some duds. Losses by 1-0 to both RB Leipzig and Braga saw the Scottish side need home leg comebacks to advance, and early losses to Lyon and Sparta Prague, both without scoring, are also worrisome. While the team is different under Giovanni van Bronckhorst now than they were at that time under Steven Gerrard who departed in November, Rangers still boast an attack that's prone to invisible performances.
Goals will be hard to come by in this match, and Frankfurt should have the firepower to take it over the line.
- Pick: Eintracht Frankfurt double chance (draw or win) and under 3.5 goals
- Odds: -155
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rangers prop: Yellow cards
This is the juiciest card prop you'll see for a while.
Eintracht Frankfurt, topping the Europa League in both total yellow cards and fouls conceded, is playing Rangers, the second-highest Europa League participant when it comes to fouls conceded and third-highest on yellow cards. In 12 matches, Frankfurt has collected 31 yellow cards, over 2.6 per game, and committed a gargantuan 186 fouls, averaging 15.5 per match. Rangers, meanwhile, has slightly tamer numbers, but still stands near the top of the table.
And yet, somehow, Eintracht Frankfurt to collect over 2.5 yellow cards in a European final against a counterattacking team in Rangers has plus odds. There's no running away from this one. Add in the 4.5 over/under card total for the match, and it's hard to fathom a way this doesn't come in.
- Prop Pick 1: Eintracht Frankfurt over 2.5 cards (+110 on DraftKings)
- Prop Pick 2: Over 4.5 total cards (-145 on DraftKings)
