Rangers may still have a very very tough test awaiting them in Slovenia, but then we said that about Croatians Osijek and in truth the Ibrox men (fairly) comfortably negotiated both legs of a theoretically difficult tie.
So with a little momentum just starting to creep in, who could Rangers get in the final qualifying round of the Europa League qualifiers, or the play-offs as Uefa like to call it.
Well, the big big BIG bonus for Rangers on Monday for the draw, should they negotiate Maribor (no easy task) is that they will now inherit the Slovenians’ seeding which eliminates some brutal sides as opponents at that point.
In the final round, sides Rangers could have got, but will now avoid include Sevilla, Zenit, Basel, Besiktas, and Copenhagen. Not quite Man City, but very very tough anyway.
So who would they get instead?
We hear Austria is nice this time of year – Rapid Wien (or Vienna) are the top unseeded side at this stage, and ex-Bear Nikica Jelavic will know all about them. He cost Walter Smith around £3M from them way back when.
Remember that friendly in 2017 where we got absolutely pummelled by Leipzig? The German rising stars are here again and could well be an opponent. They wait for us on Monday, as do…
Burnley! Having seen off our woollen friends last night, Burnley could well see themselves up against another Scottish team in the final round. That would be a tasty one for Scott Arfield alright.
However, we’d argue the calibre of sides unseeded are actually as strong as any we’ve seen at this level. Italian outfit Atalanta (a fantastically run side who produce most of Italy’s best players then sell them on at a fortune) are there, and will be a hell of a side to get past – ask Everton, while French giants Bordeaux and Serbian cracks Partizan are in the draw ready for their opponents.
Oh, and old foes Sturm Graz are lying in wait as are Norwegian side Molde.
It’s a really, really tasty round – naturally Rangers need to get there first, but from Maribor onwards, this is what The Journey was all about.
Need to be honest and say we will do well to get past Maribor. Thereafter, unless we get super lucky with the draw, it will be a major achievement at this stage to reach the group stage.
If We manage to get a Result against Maribor …The Best We can Hope for out of Them Teams Is …
Rapid W, Sturm Graz, Molde
…and Maybe Partizan
Bring on burnley!
Personally, if we get past Maribor I'd count that as a good run.
Anything after that will have been definitely progression
I have a sneaky it will be Partizan
Probably true but sad.
Bring on the six-fingered Dingles.
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