Rangers could be forced to play their first Ibrox pre-season friendly and the first leg of Europa League Qualifying Round 1 (QR1) in the space of three days should Gibraltar outfit St. Joseph’s win the right to play the Ibrox side.
Rangers will play either St. Joseph’s or Kosovans Prishtina in QR1. They drew the first leg of their qualifier 1-1 last week.
Should St. Joseph’s make it through they would join compatriots Europa in the hat. Gibraltar only has one stadium suitable for European matches, and obviously, both sides can’t use it at the same time.
It would also mean that Rangers will be playing two games in three days with a pre-season friendly with Oxford United set to take place on Sunday.
Steven Gerrard would also have two days less to prepare for the beginning of a potentially season-defining Europa League run.
Rangers won’t find out the outcome of this until at least Tuesday, and at the latest Thursday.
Should St. Joseph’s progress against Prishtina on Tuesday 2nd of July, the victors of Europa’s preliminary round tie against St. Julia’s won’t be decided until Thursday.
Steven Gerrard will be determined to ensure the club get off to a good start in their Europa League campaign after qualifying for the tournament last year.
Rangers fans will also be hoping for the chance of revenge with Progres Niederkorn, a potential opponent in QR2 who infamously beat Rangers over two legs two seasons ago.
