Possible opponents for Rangers in the Europa League
Rangers will be looking ahead to who they could face next in the Europa League after progressing in the competition last night.
A 2-0 win over Sparta Prague in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first game in the dugout secured them second spot in Group A with one game to spare.
The Bears trail group leaders Lyon, who they face in a fortnight, by seven points, meaning they cannot top the group.
As part of the Europa League’s revamp this season, the runners-up from each group will face a preliminary knockout round tie over two legs against a side who has finished third in their Champions League group.
The draw for this takes place on December 13 following the conclusion of the group stages.
So who could Rangers face?
With one round of Champions League group matches left to play, three teams are confirmed to finish third in their group – Borussia Dortmund (Group C), Sheriff Tiraspol (Group D) and Zenit St Petersburg (Group H).
In Group A, it will be RB Leipzig unless Club Brugge get a better result against PSG than the German side do against Manchester City.
There is a three-way battle in Group B, with Porto (five points), AC Milan and Atletico Madrid (both four points) still in contention for a spot in the Champions League knockout round. On the final matchday, the Portuguese and Spanish sides face off, while the Italians play group winners Liverpool.
In Group E, there is a chance that Barcelona could drop into the Europa League. The Catalan giants are currently second in the group but play Bayern Munich in a fortnight. If they lose or draw in Germany, they would fall to third if Benfica beat Dynamo Kiev.
Manchester United have already won Group F, but behind them Villarreal (seven points), Atalanta (six points) and Young Boys (four points) could all finish third. With United playing the Swiss outfit, it is likely to be decided in the game in Italy between Atalanta and Villarreal.
Finally, in Group G no one is assured of Champions League progression, so Lille (eight points), Red Bull Salzburg (seven points) and Sevilla (six) points could all drop into the Europa League. Current leaders Lille face bottom side Wolfsburg, so Salzburg versus Sevilla could be the match to keep an eye on.
So plenty still to be decided with some daunting ties in prospect, but Rangers know that whoever they face, the second leg will be played at Ibrox, which could give them an advantage.
In other Rangers news, these are the Ajax youngsters that could follow Dave Vos to Ibrox.