Rangers Champions League tie moved as kick-off details confirmed for Union Saint-Gilloise qualifier

Rangers fans may still face a Champions League ticket scramble in Belgium – even though Union Saint-Gilloise have moved their first leg away from their Stade Joseph Marien home.

Details for the third round qualifier – the penultimate stage before the UCL group stages – have been confirmed as Giovanni van Brocnkhorst’s team prepare to begin their latest European journey next month.

As expected, the Belgians have elected to move their first leg away from their four-figure capacity home stadium – a venue which Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland has compared to Ayr United’s Somerset Park.

It doesn’t meet the strict UEFA criteria and instead, Rangers will take on the Jupiler League runners-up at the home of OH Leuven – 18 miles outside the Belgian capital Brussels.

However though the King Power Den Dreef Stadium meets the governing body’s requirements – it too has a tight attendance limit and has a capacity around one-fifth of Rangers’ Ibrox home.

Rangers will hope to progress past the Belgium surprise package and take visit some larger grounds if they can make the lucrative group stages of the Champions League – or return to the Europa League where they enjoyed such success in their run to last year’s final.

The 2022-23 European campaign begins in Belgium on Tuesday, August 2 at 7.45pm – the same day as the play-off round draw takes place. The return leg falls a week later, at Ibrox, with all second-leg ties scheduled for August 9. The play-off round then follows in the fortnight afterwards before the group stages kick off in September.