Tough draws for Scottish clubs in UEFA qualifiers | OneFootball

Some tough draws for Scottish Premiership clubs involved on the summer play-offs for the UEFA competitions with both theRangers and Hibs getting the worst possible draws but it was better luck for Dundee United…

New Rangers Head Coach Russell Martin ninth dressing room at Ibrox Stadium. Russell Martin unveiled as the new…Photo IMAGO / Shutterstock

Panathinaikos was the team that the new manager at theRangers will have wanted to avoid in today’s Champions League second round qualifying draw. Instead Russell Martin will now take charge of the team for the first time at Ibrox against the highly regarded Greek side on 22/23 July knowing that, just like in a detailed nv casino review, every detail matters when there are tens of millions at stake.

Russell Martin will be looking at taking a lead over to the Athens a week later fearing that his first matches as theRangers manager could end in disaster with a quick-fire elimination from the Champions League.

Rui Vitoria, Head Coach of Panathinaikos FC during the UEFA Conference League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Panathinaikos FC and FC Dinamo-Minsk at on December 19, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

For Russell Martin this is a huge jump from managing the likes of MK Dons, Swansea or Southampton and his task is going to be made even more difficult as there appears to be a huge rebuild underway at Ibrox. However the funds he needs for this to happen aren’t going to be immediately available and could perhaps only come through the proposed new share issue that aims to bring in an additional £20m in funding.

The other possible opponents for theRangers were Servette of Switzerland or Brann Bergen from Norway, with either being preferable to the highly rated Panathinaikos.

Fans of Panathinaikos during the UEFA Conference League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between ACF Fiorentina and Panathinaikos FC at Stadio Artemio Franchi on March 13, 2025 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Founded in 1908, Panathinaikos tend to move their bigger games to the Olympic Stadium in Athens and this Champions League second round qualifier will probably fall into that category, especially if they can get a decent result in Glasgow.

The Greek side has won both the League and Greek Cup 20 times each, that’s 19 times more than theRangers, founded in 2012, have won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup.

If theRangers win this tie against Panathinaikos then they will progress to the third round of qualifiers for the Champions League where they will be a seeded team. However if they lose they drop down to Europa League QR3 where they will be unseeded and could thereafter find that there will be no further participation in European football this season.

Tete of Panathinaikos run with the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between Panathinaikos FC and Vikingur at Olympic Athletic Center of Athens Spyridon Louis on February 20, 2025 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

The latest Ibrox club has done very well at Europa League level in recent years but found the Champions League much tougher, losing every game the last time that they reached the group stages and ending up with the worst ever record in the old format since it was introduced in the 1990s. With the groups of four format having been replaced last season by the one large league that’s an unwanted record that theRangers fans know they’ll often be reminded about.

Easter Road, photo The Celtic Star

Hibs too were handed the toughest possible draw in the Europa League second round qualifier against Danish side FC Midtjylland. Hibs will travel to Denmark on 24 July 24, before hosting the second leg at Easter Road on 31 July. Midtjylland undoubtedly represent the strongest seeded team Hibs could have been pitted against in today’s draw in Nyon. The Danish side knocked Celtic out at the qualifying stages for the Champions League in 2021, giving Ange Postecolou his own first taste of defeat in European football.

With both theRangers (seeded) and Hibs (unseeded) getting tough draws it was better luck for Dundee United who will face UNA Strassen from Luxembourg and Jim Goodwin’s side should have more than enough about them to win this tie as they look to make the group stages.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is seen during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off first leg Press Conference on February 11, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic too will be involved in the Champions League qualifiers but much later in the process. The Scottish Champions enter as a seeded team at the Play-off stage at the end of August. To reach that theRangers who have to beat both Panathinaikos and their subsequent opponents in the third qualifying round.

Scotland’s co-efficient points total going forward is reliant on all our team making it through to the group stages, and in truth for theRangers they are much more likely to do well in the Europa League than the Champions League. Even that though might not be available to them as Russell Martin is just in the door and has a massive amount of work to do get theRangers ready for these early summer challenges.

Celtic’s Ryan Christie after the defeat in the Champions League qualifier between FC Midtjylland and Celtic FC at MCH Arena in Herning, Wednesday 28 July 2021, Herning Denmark. Photo Bo Amstrup

Even Ange Postecoglou found that too much to cope with when the recently appointed Celtic manager lost to FC Midtjylland back in summer 2021.