Rangers will have to play the second leg of a potential £30m Champions League showdown just days before they face off against Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
The Ibrox side harbour heady ambitions to make Europe’s elite competition for the first time in eleven years and have a third-round qualifier to navigate in early August to make even the Playoff.
But should Rangers – who are seeded for the third-round – make it to the Playoffs the second leg on the 25th of August is just days before the club welcomes Celtic to Ibrox on the 28th.
Celtic will harbour their own ambitions of making the Champions League but in taking the non-Champions path face a considerably harder task.
Our Old Firm rivals could also be set to play a Europa League Playoff should they fail to get past the third qualifying round of the the Champions League.
It means both sides will be going all out to qualify for European competition whilst a vital Scottish Premiership campaign kicks off.
The winner of this year’s title will earn automatic entry into next season’s Champions League to provide added incentive ahead of the new campaign.
In what promises to be a busy August, here are Rangers’ fixtures as the season gets underway:
- Saturday 31/07/2021 13:30 Livingston H (Scottish Premiership)
- Tue/Wed 03-04/08/2021 TBC (Champions League Third Round qualifier first leg)
- Saturday 07/08/2021 15:00 Dundee United A (Scottish Premiership)
- Tue 10/08/2021 TBC (Champions League Third Round qualifier second leg)
- Saturday 14/08/2021 TBS (League Cup Second Round)
- Tue/Wed 17-18/08/2021 TBC (Champions League Playoff first leg)
- Saturday 21/08/2021 15:00 Ross County A (Scottish Premiership)
- Tue/Wed 24-25/08/2021 TBC (Champions League Playoff second leg)
- Saturday 28/08/2021 15:00 Celtic H (Scottish Premiership)
View all the club’s Scottish Premiership fixtures HERE.
The confirmed Old Firm dates are as follows:
- Saturday 28/08/2021 15:00 Celtic H
- Sunday 02/01/2022 15:00 Celtic A
- Saturday 02/04/2022 15:00 Celtic H
Rangers are certainly used to these high intensity starts to the league season with these nine games crammed into four games nothing new for Steven Gerrard’s charges.
Qualification for the Champions League is worth a reported £30m to clubs qualifying from Scotland and the Gers know the financial and prestigious rewards attached to the competition.
Rangers have also been handed a major blow going into the qualifiers with two key players guaranteed to miss some or all of the qualification campaign.
