Champions League permutations: What do Rangers need to progress? Which pot could they be in? What teams could they face?

Rangers are just one game away for qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League for the first time since the 2010/11 season.

If they can overcome Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands next Wednesday, everyone associated with the club will be desperate to find out which three teams they could face and what glamour ties could be on the horizon.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were held to an entertaining 2-2 by last season’s Eredivisie runners-up at Ibrox on Tuesday night, leaving the tie perfectly poised ahead of the return fixture worth a lucrative £40million.

Once the group stages are finalised, the 32 teams will be divided among four pots based on their current UEFA club coefficients. They will form eight groups containing four clubs.

If Rangers had beaten Eintracht Frankfurt in last season’s Europa League final, they would’ve gone straight into Pot 1 alongside the top seven league champions based on their country’s performance across the 2021/22 season.

Instead, they have been forced to navigate a longer qualifying route to the group phase having finished behind reigning champions Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last term.

GlasgowWorld takes a look at Rangers’ Champions League permutations...

What pot will Rangers be in if they qualify?

Rangers will be in either Pot 3 or Pot 4 if they progress to the Champions League group stages. A lot will also depend on how Portuguese giants Benfica fare against Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv over two legs.

If Benifca LOSE to Dynamo Kyiv, Rangers will go into Pot 3. However, if Benfica WIN their tie, Rangers will go into Pot 4.

Which teams will Rangers avoid if they qualify?

Rangers will avoid Glasgow rivals Celtic no matter which pot they end up in, given UEFA’s guidelines on clubs from the same country being drawn against each other in the group phase.

If they are in Pot 3, Rangers will avoid: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen (and Celtic).

If they are in Pot 4, Rangers will certainly avoid Club Brugge and potentially Marseille.

The remaining teams still vying to reaching the group stages in the playoff round are: Qarabag FK, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Haifa, Red Star Belgrade, FC Copenhagen and Trabzonspor.

Of those teams, Dinamo Zagreb are currently one place below Rangers in the UEFA coefficient rankings, so if they both come through their respective ties they are likely to avoid each other.

All of the other clubs are certain to be in Pot 4 if they qualify due to them ranking below Club Brugge (44th) and Celtic (51st) in the coefficient standings.

Which teams could Rangers face if they qualify?

If Rangers are in Pot 3, they could face the following sides...

(POT 1) - Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Ajax

(POT 2) - Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur, and (TBC) Marseille

(POT 4) - Club Brugge and (TBC) Qarabag FK, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Haifa, Red Star Belgrade, FC Copenhagen and Trabzonspor.

If Rangers are in Pot 4, they could face the following sides...

(POT 1) - Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Ajax

(POT 2) - Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur

(POT 3) - Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakthar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen and (TBC) Marseille