Rangers left-back Jefte is a fierce competitor, making him an appealing prospect to commit a minimum of one foul on Thursday night. The 20-year-old Brazilian has given away at least one free-kick in five of his six Scottish Premiership outings this season. Consequently, the Gers defender has already picked up three yellow cards in the Scottish top-flight this term.

What’s more, Jefte was sent off during Rangers’ 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv during Champions League qualification, meaning he was suspended for the Gers’ 2-0 win in Malmo on matchday one. He returned to the Rangers side against Lyon on matchday two and committed one foul in that particular game. Jefte will likely be up against Romanian forward Marius Stefanescu on Thursday night, who was fouled twice during FCSB’s 4-1 win over Rigas FS.

Leon Balogun looks set to be handed a rare start for Rangers on Thursday night. The veteran defender is expected to deputise for fellow centre-half Robin Propper who was forced off against Kilmarnock. Balogun will almost certainly be lacking in match sharpness given that he has barely featured for the Light Blues this season.

He was only on the field for less than 30 minutes against Kilmarnock on Sunday and still managed to give away one foul. Similarly, Balogun also got himself on the wrong side of the referee in a 45-minute outing against Ross County back in August. He was also used sparingly last season, yet still managed to pick up a couple of yellow cards as well a red. Balogun should have his hands full here with in-form FCSB forward Daniel Birligea, who has drawn a combined total of three fouls across his last two outings in the Europa League.

Look to Malcom Edjouma to commit one or more fouls at Ibrox on Thursday night. There is a chance this game could be a bit of a midfield battle and the Moroccan will be in the thick of it if that does prove to be the case. The 28 year-old midfielder tends to get through most of the dirty work in midfield for FCSB, as was the case in each of their opening two league phase fixtures.

Edjouma has committed a combined total of three fouls across his last two Europa League appearances, not to mention he has also made three successful tackles. He is likely to be keeping tabs on Rangers attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence, who has been fouled five times across his last two Scottish Premiership appearances.

FCSB look well placed to work Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland at least twice on Thursday night. The Romanian champions have scored in each of their last nine matches across all competitions. They forced four saves from Rigas FS stopper Fabrice Ondoa on matchday one. While PAOK stopper Dominik Kotarski was only called into action once on matchday two, it was a backs-to-the-wall performance from 10-man FCSB in the second half.

The aforementioned Butland had to make three saves during Rangers’ heavy 4-1 loss to Lyon last time out in the Europa League. He has also had to make multiple stops in the Gers’ recent Scottish Premiership home games with both Hibernian and St Johnstone respectively. Rangers’ already fragile confidence won’t be helped by the likely absence of Robin Propper, and that only adds to the appeal of siding with the visitors to work the home goalkeeper on at least two occasions.

Backing both teams to score looks like a good value option at Ibrox on Thursday night. Rangers have a strong record in this competition in recent years, most notably reaching the 2022 final. The Gers have only failed to score in four of their last 23 Europa League assignments, three of which were away from their Glasgow base.

However, the Scottish giants could struggle to silence an FCSB side that has scored in each of their last nine outings across all competitions. What’s more, the Red and Blues have racked up multiple strikes in five of those fixtures. It’s also worth noting that both teams have scored in four of the visitors’ previous seven matches. On top of that, five of Rangers’ last seven Europa League contests have seen both teams get on the scoresheet.

Rangers look completely devoid of self-belief right now so backing FCSB with a +2 start on the handicap holds plenty of appeal. As already mentioned, the Romanian heavyweights are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, having triumphed in each of their last five matches. In contrast, Rangers have lost two of their last three games and have put in a number of unconvincing performances since the start of the season.

Philippe Clement’s side have won just five of their opening eight Scottish Premiership matches of the season, three of which were by a one-goal margin. They also failed to beat Dynamo Kiev both home and away during Champions League qualification, and latest opponents FCSB are arguably a team of a similar ilk. Thus, backing the high-flying visitors with a two-goal head start makes plenty of sense given the hosts recent shortcomings.

FCSB’s Daniel Birligea looks overpriced to get on the scoresheet in Glasgow. The Romanian international has hit eight goals across his 17 appearances this season. However, it’s worth pointing out that he has notched in each of his last three outings. Birligea has also made the net bulge in each of FCSB’s opening two assignments of the new look league phase of the Europa League.

That doesn’t bode well for a Rangers side that have recorded just one clean sheet across their last nine continental contests. Furthermore, each of the last four sides to pitch up at Ibrox in the Europa League have landed a blow on the Light Blues’ defence. That four-team sample includes both Sparta Prague and Aris Limassol, who both struck on their respective visits to this venue last season. Rangers would appear to have regressed since then, so there is plenty of scope for FCSB’s in-form forward to make his mark on Thursday night.

James Tavernier has not been a player who tends to find himself on the referee’s radar over the years but that has not been the case so far this season. The Rangers captain has committed a foul in four of his last five Scottish Premiership outings. He was also reprimanded twice by the referee during the Teddy Bears’ 2-0 win over Malmo on matchday one. Tavernier has also accumulated three yellow cards across his 14 appearances in all competitions this term to date.

It would appear that the Rangers right-back will be in a direct battle with Florin Tanase on Thursday night. The FCSB forward was fouled three times during his side’s 1-0 win over PAOK on matchday one, not to mention he also earned his side a free-kick against Rigas FS on night one of the league phase.