Last season’s run to the Europa League Final is again set to pay off big time for Rangers – IF they qualify for the Champions League.
The Gers supercharged their coefficient by going all the way to Seville, where they lost a gut-wrenching penalty shootout to Eintracht Frankfurt on a sweltering night in Spain. Gio van Bronckhorst guided them to the Champions League this term after successfully negotiating two qualifying rounds and dumping out Dutch side PSV to reach the lucrative group stage.
But the Light Blues were given a brutal reality check after being drawn in a group of death alongside Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax. They failed to pick up a single point and took on the unwanted mantle of having the worst record of any team to have played in that stage of the competition. They conceded a whopping 22 goals in their six games, which included a club-record defeat after Liverpool dismantled them 7-1 at Ibrox.
But things could get easier should they reach the promised land again next season. Their coefficient ranking means they’d be catapulted into pot three for the draw – one above rivals and champions elect Celtic. Of course, the Hoops will be guaranteed their spot in the group stage as soon as they are crowned Premiership champions, which is now only a matter of time after opening a 12 point gap at the top of the table.
Italian outlet fantacalcio.it have been keeping track of the ever-changing seedings line up in real time. Rangers currently comfortably meet the criteria of third seeds, although plenty can change between now and the end of the season.
They can't draw their city rivals, as clubs from the same country are kept apart in the draw. However, a number of tasty Battle of Britain clashes could be on the cards with Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle all in the mix south of the border, with the Toon set for pot 4 along with Celtic. The Mags are already scheduled to play Rangers this summer. Eddie Howe will bring his side to Glasgow for Allan McGregor's testimonial in July.
Champions League 2023/24 live seedings
First seeds
| Chelsea * | ENG |
| Arsenal | ENG |
| Barcelona | ESP |
| Napoli | ITA |
| Bayern Munich | GER |
| PSG | FRA |
| Benfica | POR |
| Sevilla* | ESP |
Second seeds
| Manchester City | ENG |
| Real Madrid | ESP |
| Manchester Utd | ENG |
| Roma | ITA |
| Ajax | NED |
| Borussia Dortmund | GER |
| Atletico Madrid | ESP |
| RB Leipzig | GER |
Third seeds
| Porto | POR |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | UKR |
| RB Salzburg | AUT |
| Dinamo Zagreb | CRO |
| Rangers | SCO |
| Feyenoord | NED |
| Milan | ITA |
| Lazio | ITA |
Fourth seeds
| Crvena Zvezda | SRB |
| FC Copenhagen | DEN |
| Young Boys | SUI |
| Real Sociedad | ESP |
| Marseille | FRA |
| Celtic | SCO |
| Newcastle | ENG |
| Union Berlin | GER |
*Chelsea pencilled in as CL winners due to still being in the competition but outside qualification places domestically.
*Sevilla included as top seeds as Man United currently fourth in English Premier League.
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