Rangers are still very much focused on this season’s continental campaign and trying to make progress in the Europa League with a last-16 tie to look forward to next month, having skipped the play-off knockout round.
But they will have one eye on next season and a new development could see them again promoted – this time in the Champions League qualifiers. Unless they can make a miracle recovery in the Scottish Premiership title race, the Ibrox side will enter UEFA’s premier competition in the second qualifying round of the league path – three hurdles away from the lucrative league phase.
However, there is a scenario that could see them move up to the third qualifying round, the same stage in which they exited this season when they crashed out to Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden Park. That would be significant in that if they were to lose at that stage they would be guaranteed Europa League group stage football. But, according to info on Football Meets Data, here’s what they would need to happen for this scenario to come to fruition.
Europa League winners to qualify for Champions League via league position
Of course, Rangers are themselves still dreaming of this but if not then you would think there would be a fair chance of the eventual winners qualifying for the Champions League through their domestic league.
But that’s by no means a guarantee when you look at current form of those remaining. For example, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the top two favourites in the betting but are languishing in the lower reaches of the English Premier League table. Lazio, Galatasaray, Porto and Athletic Bilbao, host city of the Europa League final, would give them the best chance.
And if this happens?
Well, if part one occurs then it means there is an extra space in the Champions League league stage. Rangers would actually be in the hunt to take that themselves thanks to their club coefficient but would be ineligible due to UEFA’s ‘leapfrog rule’ meaning they can’t go directly into the group stage if the champions from their own country don’t qualify through their domestic league (Celtic will be in the play-off round). That wouldn’t apply, though, if they were to defy the odds and win the Europa League. But failing that, another team would move from Champions League qualifying round three to the group stage – and it’s that place that would be up for grabs. And as things stand Rangers would claim it.
So it’s all positive for Rangers?
Pretty much, although they still need a bit to happen. But there is also a bit of a bizarre scenario that could see the Light Blues HELP the team who finishes third in the Scottish Premiership guarantee European group stage football – without being guaranteed it themselves! Confused? Well, you should be. It’s a ‘glitch’, as described by the popular Scotland’s Co-efficient account. Basically, if the Scottish Cup winners finish in either of the top two spots in the Scottish Premiership then their place would go to the team that finishes third, currently Dundee United.
That would see them go into the Europa League play-off and guarantee at least a Europa Conference League group stage spot. However, if Rangers go into Champions League qualifying round two then they wouldn’t even have that assurance themselves. It happened in Serbia last season when runners-up Partizan Belgrade lost in the qualifiers in each of the three UEFA tournaments while Backa Topola finished third but took Red Star Belgrade’s Cup winners spot and after being hammered in the Europa League play-off, dropped into the Europa Conference League group stage.