Fenerbahce have been in fine form of late and they can come away with a first leg lead on Thursday evening. Jose Mourinho’s side have avoided defeat in each of their last 18 matches across all competitions, a sequence that stretches all the way back to mid-December. Across that period, the Turkish giants have taken top honours from eight of their nine home games in all competitions, including each of their last six.

That doesn’t bode well for a Rangers side that have endured yet another turbulent campaign. Philippe Clement was recently dismissed as manager following a string of poor results and caretaker boss Barry Ferguson has faced something of a baptism of fire since taking charge, most recently watching his side fall to a 2-1 defeat at home to Motherwell on Saturday.

Look for Fenerbahce to collect two or more cards during Thursday night’s first leg. Under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, the Yellow Canaries won’t hesitate when it comes to making use of the game’s dark arts. That is evidenced by the fact that no team has received more yellow cards than Fenerbahce (41) in this season’s Europa League, not to mention the Istanbul outfit have also been shown three red cards on the continent this term.

A deeper dig shows that Fenerbahce have received two cards or more in each of their 10 Europa League assignments this season. Expect that trend to continue when they take on a Rangers team that drew at least two cards from seven of their eight opponents during the league phase.

Youssef En-Nesyri is a striker who is never too far away from the goals. As we approach the business end of the campaign, the Fenerbahce ace is sitting on 26 strikes across his 39 appearances in all competitions to date, chipping in with five assists for good measure. Having scored in six of his last eight outings in the Europa League, En-Nesyri looks well placed to continue in that vein against Rangers.

While the Light Blues surpassed their own expectations to claim a top eight finish in the league phase, they failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their eight matches, including in three of their four away from Ibrox. On top of that, Rangers have failed to silence their opponents in each of their last five domestic matches, making the aforementioned En-Nesyri the prime candidate to exploit that defensive vulnerability.

With confidence flowing in the Fenerbahce camp at the moment, the home team warrants support to overcome a -1 handicap hurdle. Jose Mourinho’s men have triumphed in eight of their last nine home matches, scoring three goals or more in seven of these victories.

The Yellow Canaries swept aside Anderlecht 3-0 at home in the play-off round, not to mention they have won each of their last three Turkish Super Lig home games by more than a one-goal margin.

Now up against a Rangers side locked in their latest period of upheaval and turmoil, high-flying Fenerbahce will smell blood on Thursday evening. The Light Blues have conceded two goals in each of their last three Scottish Premiership matches.

A minimum of four corners should be within range for Rangers on Thursday evening. The Glasgow giants are averaging a combined total of 6.05 corners per 90 across both the Europa League and Scottish Premiership this season. They earned exactly four corners away at Olympiakos during the league phase and they went one better when racking up five flag-kicks at Old Trafford.

With Fenerbahce manager Mourinho renowned for setting his teams up to sit deep and counter, Rangers should be given ample opportunity to get into the final-third and to clock up at least four corners. The Turkish giants have conceded a minimum of six corners in three of their five Europa League home games this season.

Nicolas Raskin has been shown a yellow card on no fewer than nine occasions across his 36 appearances for Rangers this season. Two of those five cautions have arrived across Raskin’s last five outings in the Europa League, with the all-action Belgian averaging a team-high 2.75 fouls per 90 on the continent this season. With Rangers expected to come under a lot of pressure on Thursday evening, the 24-year-old looks a good option to be booked in this fixture.

In direct opposition to Raskin is likely to be Fenerbahce’s technically gifted playmaker Dusan Tadic, who has earned his side multiple free-kicks in four of his last five outings in the Turkish Super Lig.

Nicolas Raskin’s all-round game stretches far beyond the duties of doing the dirty work in midfield. The Belgian ace has played a box-to-box role this season, meaning he often gets forward and into advanced areas. That has coincided with Raskin averaging 0.85 shots per game across both the Europa League and Scottish Premiership this term.

The Gers midfielder has fired in at least one shot in four of his last seven outings on the continent, as well as 10 of his last 12 appearances in the Scottish top flight. Up against a Fenerbahce side that are conceding an average of 5.29 on-target efforts per game in this season’s Europa League, Raskin stands out to try his luck on at least one occasion here.