Rangers handed tough Champions League play-off tie with Dutch giants lying in wait

Rangers have discovered their potential opponents in the Champions League play-off round.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men have been drawn against the winners of the tie between Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven and French side Monaco.

They will play the first-leg at Ibrox before travelling to Eindhoven or Monaco for the second-leg.

Rangers, who were seeded for the draw, still have to navigate their way past Belgian runners-up Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

They are in Belgium this evening for the first-leg before welcoming their opponents to Ibrox next week for the return leg. Twelve months ago they lost at the same stage to Malmo.

If they are to come through unscathed against Les Unionistes they will then face a two-legged tie to reach the Champions League group stage with the games taking place across August 16/17 and 23/24.

PSV will be slight favourites to progress from their own tie and, on paper at least, would prove trickier opposition than Union SG. As would Monaco who finished third in Ligue 1, just missing out on second place which would have earned automatic qualification for the group stage.

If it is the Monegasques, it would be the third time the teams have met in Europe, while it would be the fourth meeting with PSV, who have signed two players previously linked with Rangers across the past 12 months, Joey Veerman and Xavi Simons.

Rangers could face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-off round. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

A win would see Rangers play in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2010. If they were to fail at the play-off stage, they would drop into the Europa League groups, a stage where they have had plenty of joy in recent years.