da bet7： The season is barely finished in Scotland but Rangers are already deep into their pre-season preparations, taking on friendly matches and bedding in their six new arrivals at Ibrox so far.
da imperador bet： It’s been necessary. Incredibly the Light Blues kick-off their first competitive match next Thursday against Luxembourg outfit Progres Niederkorn in the 1st Round of UEFA Europa League qualifying.
Such is the state of the Scottish European co-efficient these days, teams have to enter Europe at a very early stage and fight across the continent for the right to reach the group stages of the both competitions. Most of the time these ties are against relatively unknown teams and throw up big surprises for fans to get to grip withs.
Not only do Rangers know their opponents for this round but they also know their potential opponents in the next round with the 2nd Qualifying Round also drawn.
What are the must know facts about all of these teams? We’re here with FOUR bits of info Rangers fans need to know ahead of the qualifiers…
Progres Niederkorn have never won a European match
Despite having not competed in Europe for years, there’s no doubt that Rangers fans will be full of confidence heading into next week’s tie and for good reason.
Their opponents have never won a match in UEFA competition in 12 attempts. The most illustrious side they’ve faced on the continent is Real Madrid, who beat them 12-0 on aggregate in the European Cup in 1978.
Since 1982 though they’ve only featured in Europe on one occasion. That came in 2015/16 when they were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by Irish Shamrock Rovers despite a credible 0-0 draw at home.
They’ve only scored one goal in Europe full stop, conceding a massive 40 goals in return.
It all points to a rather easy first test for Pedro Caixinha this summer and although the Light Blues faltered last season, they should be far too strong for a side that finished 4th in the Luxembourg National Division.
Progres’ biggest goal threat is Remi Laurent
If Progres Niederkorn are to get anything out of their tie against Rangers then it’ll likely come through French striker Remi Laurent. After scoring 93 goals in eight years in the French lower leagues, the 30-year-old joined Progres last summer and has been a big success at the club.
He scored 24 goals in 26 matches, an exceptional scoring rate and even though the standard of the Luxembourg National Division is unlikely to be high, it’s certainly a rate that should register on the minds of fans ahead of next Thursday.
The new look Rangers defence is untested and though you’d like to think Pedro Caixinha has marshalled his defence into shape in pre-season, they’ll have to ensure they are all in step with each other or there could be a surprise goal in store from main man Laurent.
AEL have a decent recent UEFA record
If Rangers make it past the 1st Qualifying Round as expected then the difficult ramps up a notch with a potential tie against Cypriot side AEL Limassol. They too have to overcome a 1st Round tie but you’d expect them to take care of St Joseph’s of Gibraltar with ease.
Since Rangers’ absence from European football, AEL don’t actually have too bad a record given them come from a tiny country like Cyprus.
In 2012 they reached the group stages of the UEFA Europa League after securing a massive result against Partizan Belgrade in Champions League qualifying, parachuting in after being knocked out by Anderlecht.
In that group stage they ultimately finished 4th but did secure a famous 3-0 win over Marseille.
In 2014 they entered into Champions League qualifying once again, being put out by Zenit St Petersburg but not before beating them 1-0 at home and potentially causing a massive shock.
Of course it’s a few years down the line but it shows that they are no pushovers at European level and a long flight to the baking heat of Cyprus isn’t exactly ideal for Rangers.
This is St Joseph’s debut season in Europe
If AEL Limassol succumb to a massive shock against St Joseph’s of Gibraltar then the 2nd Qualifying Round would be a far easier affair. Part-time St Joseph’s have never competed in Europe but enter this year after finishing third in the Gibraltan Premier Division, a massive 18 points behind second-placed Lincoln Red Imps.
Gibraltan football is still in its infancy at a Europe-wide level and it’s less about results for these teams and more about building towards the future.
The only name Rangers fans may know in the St Joseph’s team is goalkeeper Jamie Robba who has 8 caps for the Gibraltar national team including against Scotland at Hampden.
He also faced Germany and despite losing the match 4-0 he was in lightning form, making a number of superb stops to keep the score down against the world champions.