The huge Champions League advantage Rangers could have over Celtic if they beat PSV

Michael Beale’s side are now just one round away from reach the group stage after beating Servette 3-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
Martyn Simpson
By Martyn Simpson
Published 16th Aug 2023, 09:39 BST
Updated 16th Aug 2023, 09:44 BST
Rangers have to beat PSV to reach the group stage but if they do they will have a serious advantage over rivals Celtic (Pic: Getty) Rangers have to beat PSV to reach the group stage but if they do they will have a serious advantage over rivals Celtic (Pic: Getty)
Rangers have to beat PSV to reach the group stage but if they do they will have a serious advantage over rivals Celtic (Pic: Getty)

Rangers now find themselves in the exact same position as they were this time last year, having to beat PSV Eindhoven to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was able to guide the club past the Dutch side 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at Ibrox and a 1-0 win at the Philips Stadium. Michael Beale will look to replicate the accomplishment and this time the prize for doing so will be even better than it was 12 months ago.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That is because Rangers will book themselves a place in Pot 3 of the group stage draw this time around if they win their play-off tie. Last season their coefficient score of 50.250 made them the highest ranked club in Pot 4 but things are different this time around.

There is currently one spot remaining in Pot 3 and it will go to the highest ranked winner from the ‘League Path’ qualifying which will be one of Rangers, PSV, Braga or Panathinaikos. As the Gers’ score is better than the Portuguese and Greek sides, who face each other, they will be the team who take it if they win.

Meanwhile, Celtic’s path to Pot 3 is outwith their hands but they could still make it there. There are still two places up for grabs in the third pot and Celtic are currently the second highest ranked team who have already qualified for the groups with a score of 31.000 (Real Sociedad have 33.000).

That means it will depend on the results from the ‘Champions Path’ qualifiers but if any one of Young Boys, Copenhagen or Galatasaray win their respective ties then Celtic will be consigned to Pot 4. Here is how the pots for the group stage draw currently look:

Pot 1

  • Manchester City
  • Sevilla
  • Barcelona
  • Napoli
  • Bayern Munich
  • Paris Saint-Germain
  • Benfica
  • Feyenoord

Pot 2

  • Real Madrid
  • Manchester United
  • Inter
  • Borussia Dortmund
  • Atlético Madrid
  • RB Leipzig
  • Porto
  • Arsenal

Pot 3

  • Shakhtar Donetsk
  • Red Bull Salzburg
  • AC Milan
  • Lazio
  • Red Star Belgrade
  • One ‘League Path’ winner (Rangers or Braga or PSV)

Pot 3 or Pot 4

  • Real Sociedad
  • Celtic
  • Four ‘Champions Path’ winners
  • One ‘League Path’ winner

Pot 4

  • Newcastle United
  • Union Berlin
  • Lens
Related topics:Champions League

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.