Rangers or Jagiellonia Bialystok will play FC Iberia 1999 in the Europa League Playoff round after the Georgian side narrowly beat Larne on Tuesday evening.
While the ties are still to be confirmed, Iberia 1999 are due to play away in the first leg, with the return game in Tbilisi one week later.
Those ties are scheduled to take place on August 20 and 27.
Should Rangers fail to get past Jagiellonia, Derek McInnes’ team will drop into the Europa Conference League to play Czech club Jablonec or RFS of Latvia.
Favourable route to the Europa League
If anything, the result increases the pressure for Thursday evening at Ibrox.
The Georgian side won’t be taken for granted, especially with Rangers’ current form, but it’s as favourable as it gets.
The reality is that Jagiellonia arrive in Glasgow this week holding the lead in the third qualifying round tie.
There’s no guarantee that the Gers are ready to salvage this mission as much as they should be strong favourites at home.
Losing Youssef Chermiti and Tuur Rommens is another setback that McInnes could do without, but there’s no excuses if this one goes wrong.
Larne v Rangers dream fades away
Larne v Rangers in the Europa League. It wasn’t to be.
The tie would have been great for the supporters on both sides of the Irish Sea, and a very handy one logistically for the club.
Instead, a relatively long trip to the Caucasus awaits, pending progression.
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