Bachmann backs Rangers … but jury’s out on Celtic
GOALKEEPER Dan Bachmann made his debut for Kilmarnock in a 3-1 BetFred Cup defeat by Rangers at Rugby Park in August and, on Saturday, he was on the receiving end at Parkhead as Celtic won 5-1 to overhaul the Ayrshire club at the top of the Premiership table.
Consequently, the Austrian, signed on a season-long loan from Watford, is ideally placed to assess Thursday night’s Europa League deciders between Celtic and Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid Vienna and Rangers.
Indeed, Bachmann was at Ibrox as a co-commentator for Austrian television when Rangers beat Rapid 3-1 in October and, while he won’t be working on Thursday evening, he will be previewing both games for broadcasters back home tomorrow.
The 24-year-old played for Rapid as a youth but he believes Rangers will gain the victory they require to qualify from their group.
“They were beaten 5-0 at Villarreal a few weeks back but, apart from that, they’ve not really been shown up.
“And going to Moscow and beating Spartak was great for them because it’s not an easy place to go, especially with the weather at this time of the year.
“They beat them 2-0 at home as well so it’s been surprising that they’ve got big results against big teams.
“But it’s good for them and good for Austrian football. It’ll be very difficult for them to beat Rangers.
“Rangers need a win to go through and I think they will get it, even though I’m Austrian and I’d like to see Rapid progress.”
Celtic will guarantee qualification with a draw, but Bachmann rates this too close to call, especially since he believes that Group B winners Salzburg will field their strongest team.
“Salzburg are already through but Celtic are such a big club in world football. For teams like Salzburg who play in Austria and who don’t get big crowds, they’ll see it as an opportunity,” he said.
“I don’t think the coach will change it too much. He’ll let the players who’ve performed for him in the previous games have the experience of playing in a stadium like Celtic Park.
“That doesn’t happen for them all the time – sometimes in Austria they’ll play in front of 1500 people. They’ll come with a strong team, looking to win.
“Salzburg are 14 points clear at the top in the Bundesliga. They’re too good for the Austrian league.
“They’ve a lot more money than everyone else. They have top-quality players and they made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League last season.
“Since 2011 there’s only been one occasion when a club other than Red Bull won the Austrian title and since 2013 no-one’s come close.”