Rangers embark on a new Europa League journey this September after failing to qualify for the Champions League.
The Ibrox giants fell at the third qualifying round stage against Dynamo Kyiv and it means they will miss out on the riches of Europe’s premier competition.
As such, full focus turns to the Europa League and the tournament’s new league phase format, delivering a completely new experience for players and fans alike.
Philippe Clement will be aiming to go as far into the tournament as possible and have a great chance at doing so as explained below.
But first on the agenda is the Europa League draw so here, Rangers News provide you with everything there is to know including the draw date and time, the new format explained, the pots, who Gers could face and more.
Europa League new format explained
The Europa League has moved from a group stage to a giant league phase, representing an entirely different path to the knockout rounds.
Rangers will enter into this league phase as one of 36 teams and will play eight games – four at home and four on their travels.
Where the Light Blues finish at the end of the league phase will determine their progress to either the knockout stage, the knockout play-off round or elimination altogether.
- 1st to 8th qualify for the knockout stage
- 9th to 24th qualify for two-legged knockout play-off round
- 25th to 36th are eliminated from the tournament
Note that if Rangers finish 25th or below in the league phase, they will not drop down into the Europa Conference League.
Three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. If Philippe Clement’s side finish the league phase level on points with another club, rankings are then decided via goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored and so on.
How does the Europa League draw work?
The 36 league phase teams will be seeded into four pots which is determined by their 2024 UEFA club coefficient score.
Clubs will be drawn against two sides from each of the four pots, totalling eight league phase games.
What pot is Rangers in?
Rangers will be one of nine teams placed into Pot 1 for the draw. This is based on the club’s UEFA coefficient at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Ibrox club has performed strongly in the Europa League over the last few seasons, most notably reaching the final of the 2021/22 edition.
Rangers potential Europa League opponents
Here are all four pots and who Rangers could face throughout their 2024/25 Europa League league phase.
Pots 2, 3 and 4 will be decided in full after the Europa League play-off round concludes on Thursday, August 29.
Pot 1
- Rangers
- AS Roma
- Manchester United
- FC Porto
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Lazio
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Real Sociedad
- AZ Alkmaar
Pot 2
- Olympiacos
- Lyon
- Fenerbahce
- Union Saint-Gilloise
- Athletic Bilbao
- Hoffenheim
- Nice
- FC Twente
- FCSB
Pot 3
- Ferencvaros
- Qarabag
- Galatasaray
- Viktoria Plzen
- Bodo/Glimt
- Union SG
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Ludogorets
- Midtjylland
Pot 4
- Malmo
- Athletic Bilbao
- Hoffenheim
- Nice
- RFS
- Anderlecht
- FC Twente
- Besiktas
- Elfsborg
Europa League draw date and time
The fully computerised draw for the league phase is scheduled for Friday, August 30. UEFA have not yet confirmed a time but it is likely to start at 12pm BST.
It will be conducted at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
How to watch Europa League draw
Rangers supporters can watch the draw live on TNT Sports provided they have a subscription.
If you don’t have a TNT Sports subscription, you can watch the draw for free on UEFA’s official live stream or via the TNT Sports YouTube channel.
2024/25 Europa League schedule
- Matchday 1: September 25–26
- Matchday 2: October 3
- Matchday 3: October 24
- Matchday 4: November 7
- Matchday 5: November 28
- Matchday 6: December 12
- Matchday 7: January 23
- Matchday 8: January 30
- Knockout Play-Offs: February 13 & 20
- Round of 16: March 6 & 13
- Quarter-Finals: April 10 & 17
- Semi-Finals: May 1 & 8
- Final: May 21
