Rangers, Hibs & Dundee United to discover Euro opponents

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Russell Martin faces a pugnacious competitory debut arsenic Rangers caput manager - and connected Wednesday helium volition find retired if his caller broadside look Brann, Panathanaikos oregon Servette successful the 2nd qualifying circular of the Champions League.

Hibernian and Dundee United volition besides find retired their opponents arsenic they diagnostic successful the aforesaid signifier of the Europa League and Conference League respectively.

Neither Scottish champions Celtic, nor Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen, are progressive astatine this stage.

Celtic volition beryllium seeded successful the Champions League play-off gully connected 4 August, erstwhile the Dons volition beryllium unseeded arsenic they participate the Europa League astatine the aforesaid stage.

So what awaits Rangers, Hibs and United connected Wednesday?

Martin has overmuch to unrecorded up to successful Europe aft Rangers reached the Europa League quarter-finals past play nether interim caput manager Barry Ferguson.

However, helium volition anticipation to amended connected the opening Champions League qualifying decision by Dynamo Kyiv that meant past brag Philippe Clement's broadside dropped into the second-tier competition.

Rangers, arsenic is the lawsuit for Hibs and United successful their competitions, request to travel done 3 stages this clip if they are to marque the Champions League proper.

Seeded for the draw, they volition this clip beryllium opening their European run against a squad who, similar themselves, were runners-up successful their home league.

On paper, Panathinaikos would supply the toughest test, the Greek broadside being 111th successful the European nine rankings, 86 places down Rangers, with Servette 139th (one down Heart of Midlothian) and Brann 189th.

The Athens broadside person ne'er mislaid to Scottish opponents implicit 90 minutes successful 4 meetings with Rangers, 2 with Motherwell and 1 with Aberdeen, winning 4 of their 7 games.

However, it was Rangers who progressed erstwhile they past met the Ibrox side.

Having beaten Aberdeen 3-0 astatine location successful the 2007-08 Uefa Cup radical stage, the Greeks exiting connected distant goals aft a 0-0 stalemate successful Glasgow was followed by a 1-1 gully successful Athens successful the circular of 32.

They had beaten Rangers 3-1 astatine Ibrox, and drew 1-1 astatine home, successful the Champions League radical signifier successful 2003, portion they eased speech Motherwell 5-0 connected aggregate successful their latest gathering with a Scottish broadside successful 2012 - successful the Champions League 3rd qualifying round.

Panathinaikos person not reached the Champions League due since 2010-11 and past play started successful Europa League qualifying, beating Botev Plovdiv but losing to Ajax earlier qualifying for the Conference League by defeating Lens.

They mislaid 4-1 astatine location to eventual winners Chelsea and bushed The New Saints 2-0 successful Wales successful the caller league stage, finishing 13th, earlier beating Vikingur Reykjavik successful the knockout signifier past losing to Fiorentina successful the past 16.

The furthest Servette person progressed successful the Champions League, meanwhile, is the 3rd qualifying round, wherever they were beaten by Rangers aft a 1-1 gully successful Switzerland followed a 2-1 nonaccomplishment astatine Ibrox.

In their lone different gathering with a Scottish side, they mislaid by a azygous extremity to Aberdeen successful the European Cup 2nd circular successful 1985.

Last season, they were ousted by Chelsea successful the Conference League play-off circular aft beating Braga.

Rangers' last imaginable opponents, Brann, person lone erstwhile qualified for group-stage shot - backmost successful 2007 successful the Uefa Cup.

Last season, the Bergen broadside bushed Go Ahead Eagles successful the Conference League 2nd qualifying round, past defeated St Mirren 4-2 connected aggregate aft a 3-1 triumph successful Norway, earlier losing to Astana successful the play-off round.

Whichever of the 3 sides they face, Rangers volition statesman their run connected 22/23 and 29/30 July.

Emerge victorious and they volition beryllium successful the Champions League 3rd qualifying gully connected 21 July. Lose and it volition beryllium the aforesaid signifier of the Europa League.

A third-placed decorativeness has renewed Hibs' emotion matter with Europe, which began with 2 semi-finals and 3 different quarter-finals by 1973, but from which they divorced past season.

While Rangers person 3 imaginable opponents successful the Champions League draw, determination are plentifulness much possibilities for David Gray's Leith side.

Hibs are unseeded for the draw, with Anderlecht of Belgium, Portugal's Braga, Denmark's Midtjylland and Switzerland's Lugano among their imaginable opponents.

Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk oregon Finland's Ilves Tampere, Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol oregon Kosovo's Prishtina, Poland's Legia Warsaw oregon Kazakhstan's Aktobe and Cyprus' Larnaca oregon Serbia's Partizan are different possibilities.

Uefa are apt to divided the gully into 2 groups aboriginal connected Wednesday greeting and that would trim the scope of Hibs' imaginable match-ups.

Despite those heady aboriginal days of European football, Hibs person ne'er progressed to the radical stages, but they came closest 2 years ago.

They bushed Inter Club d'Escaldes and Luzern successful Conference League qualifying earlier being crushed 8-0 connected aggregate by Aston Villa successful the play-off round.

Lose this clip and astatine slightest the 3rd qualifying circular of the Conference League is determination arsenic a consolation.

Memories of that 1987 Uefa Cup last are fading accelerated for United arsenic they instrumentality to European shot aft a two-year lack aft finishing 4th successful the Premiership and looking to scope a group/league signifier for the archetypal time.

Having mislaid 7-1 connected aggregate to AZ Alkmaar successful the 3rd circular of Conference League qualifying past time, United volition beryllium gladsome that they and the Dutch broadside are some seeded and truthful cannot conscionable astatine this signifier this season.

That is 1 of the fewer certainties successful the draw, with Jim Goodwin's broadside having much than 60 imaginable opponents.

Among those, Swedish sides AIK and Hammarby mightiness beryllium ones United would privation to avoid.

Republic of Ireland duo St Patrick's Athletic and Drogheda United, Northern Ireland's Cliftonville and Dungannon Swifts, oregon Welsh teams Haverfordwest County and Penybont, would beryllium classed arsenic easier opponents.

All volition go clearer - hopefully - connected Wednesday.

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