A huge week ahead for Scotland

By: Ian Rose | August 12th, 2007

This week, three Scottish sides are playing in European competition - Celtic and Rangers in the Champions League, and Dunfermline in the UEFA Cup. Here are short previews of this week’s three European matches.

Rangers v. Crvena Zvezda
Tuesday, 14 August
This side is much better known, and was until recently called, Red Star Belgrade. Isn’t that so much easier to spell? Anyway, Rangers host the Serbian giants on Tuesday, and though both sides can claim impressive histories, Red Star has fallen from its old European form. Winners of the 1991 European Cup, they have won little else in European competition in the years since. With the recent sacking of their head coach, the state of the club is certainly in a bit of doubt. Rangers, on the other hand, are rolling, with four straight wins, and Allan McGregor might well have forgotten what it feels like to concede a goal, after four straight clean sheets. Look for Rangers to win in Glasgow and manage a score draw in Belgrade to advance.

Spartak Moscow v. Celtic
Wednesday, 15 August
Celtic head to the site of this year’s Champions League final, Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, to take on current Russian league leaders Spartak. Semifinalists in the 1991 European Cup, the same one that Red Star won, Spartak are widely thought to be one of the best of the third-round qualifying teams. The Russian Premier League is tougher than ever, and they are the most successful team in its history. Aside from their quality on the pitch, the big story at Spartak has been the pitch itself. The artificial FieldTurf surface will be unfamiliar to the Scottish champions. There was some nervous talk around Celtic Park after the Bhoys only managed a scoreless draw at home in their league opener, but a 4-1 rout over Falkirk on Saturday should have hopes a bit higher. I think Celtic can handle the Russians in Glasgow, but the opening away leg could go either way, and to me, it’s the toughest match to call in the entire round. I’d tip Celtic to win it, barely, and advance.

Dunfermline v. Häcken
Thursday, 16 August
The Pars of Dunfermline have a rough road ahead in the UEFA Cup. After being relegated last season out of the SPL, they have lost their first two matches in the Scottish First Division, and sit near the bottom of the early league table. If anything will give them confidence leading up to the Häcken tie, it might be that their opponents are in a similar situation. Häcken was also relegated last season, from the top-tier Swedish Allsvenskan to the second-tier league, the Superettan. They have, however, had a better run in their league season, just beating Falkenbergs 1-0 on Thursday to meet Pars on a high note. My call on this, however much I hate to admit it, goes against Dunfermline. I expect them to draw at home, which will itself be a struggle, and then lose on the road to crash out of the UEFA Cup early. Hopefully, Aberdeen, who enter next round, will have a bit more success, but I just can’t see Dunfermline advancing with how badly they’ve been playing lately.

Good luck to all three Scottish teams. Every win is important to our UEFA coefficient, and I hope crosstown rival club fans will remember that …

Alba Gu Brath.