Rangers’ potential opponents for the Champions League third qualifying round will be narrowed down to two when the draw is made in Nyon on Monday 19 July.
The Gers haven’t lost a European qualifying tie since Steven Gerrard’s arrival at the club, but his previous success has come in the Europa League.
Things are stepping up a notch this season and although there are safety nets in the form of the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, the stakes are higher given the additional prize money on offer in the Champions League.
The Light Blues will have to negotiate two rounds of qualifying to reach the competition proper but will only receive information on the first of those rounds on Monday afternoon, with the draw for the playoff round set to take place on 2 August.
The Gers could face any of 12 unseeded teams in Q3 but the range will be narrowed to two after the draw, with second round ties set to take place between 20 and 28 July.
Their possible opponents are: Ludogorets of Bulgaria or Mura of Slovenia, Malmo of Sweden or HJK Helsinki of Finland, Cluj of Romania or Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, Legia Warsaw of Poland or Flora of Estonia, Sheriff of Moldova or Alashkert of Armenia, Ferencvaros of Hungary or Zalgiris of Lithuania.
There are a few familiar names in there and others that supporters may not recognise.
HJK Helsinki are Alfredo Morelos’ old club and Rangers took them on in a friendly at Ibrox in January 2019, triumphing 3-2.
Meanwhile, the Gers have defeated both Lincoln Red Imps and Legia Warsaw at various stages of Europa League qualifying in recent seasons, while Cluj and Ferencvaros knocked rivals Celtic out of Champions League qualifying in 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively.
Rangers will be hoping to still have all of their key men at Ibrox by the time those ties arrive but a report has suggested that one star has his heart set on a move.
