Europa League quarter-final draw: Former Rangers duo say exactly who they want

Barcelona headline the possible opponents for Rangers in the Europa League quarter finals – and Ally McCoist wants to see the Catalan giants in Glasgow again.

McCoist was assistant to Walter Smith the last time the sides met and after watching Rangers earn a place in the last eight – McCoist had his fingers crossed for a glamour tie – or at least another encounter with a ‘B-team’.

Looking through the possible draws for Rangers in Friday lunchtime’s fixture scheduling, with three matches still to be decided, two stood out for the former striker alongside Alan Hutton on BT Sport.

Former Rangers players Ally McCoist (pictured) and Alan Hutton are looking forward to a glamour tie in the next round of the Europa League. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

"Barcelona – straight away. I mean Barcelona would be tremendous,” said McCoist. “Clearly you’d go into that tie as second favourites, that goes without saying but I think it would be another statement and another step back to where the club should be and that would be great.

“Either of the B’s – I’d take Braga as well for obvious reasons – it’s a club we’ve played against recently, they finished second in their group that Red Star Belgrade won so you’d think that could be a good opportunity – so either of the Bs for me.”

As well as Braga and Barcelona, Rangers could also face RB Leipzig or Serie A side Atalanta while the ties between West Ham and Sevilla and Real Betis at Eintracht Frankfurt had yet to be completed.

Alan Hutton, who played when Lionel Messi and Andreas Iniesta were held to a scoreless draw at Ibrox in 2007 – on course to Rangers’ UEFA Cup Final too – also wanted to see Xavi back in Govan.

Scott Arfield of Rangers celebrates after progressing through the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Leg Two match between Crvena Zvezda and Rangers FC at Rajko Mitic Stadium on March 17, 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

“Braga, I think Rangers would have a chance and fancy themselves, but the glamour tie would have to be Barcelona thinking back to when we played in the Champions League.

"What a time to be involved in and it’d be good for the fans to have that back so glamour tie for me.”

Rangers have not made the quarter finals of a European competition since that season when Frank Rijkaard's side came to Glasgow, but are now the only national champions left in the Europa League.

The draw is made at 12.15pm on Friday.

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today