Rangers discover Champions League third qualifying round opponents as Michael Beale’s side face Swiss or Belgian test

Rangers will face the winners Servette or KRC Genk in the Champions League third qualifying round after the draw was made in Nyon on Monday morning.

Michael Beale’s side, who were seeded and drawn first, have been paired against the winners of the second qualifying round tie. It means a trip to Switzerland or Belgium is on the cards for the Light Blues, with the first leg due to played at Ibrox on August 8/9. The return leg well be held a week later on August 15.

Rangers must overcome their opponents and win a two-legged play-off round to reach the competition group stages for a second consecutive year.

Last season, the Gers managed to see off another Belgian club in the shape of Union Saint-Gilloise during a dramatic two-legged contest before knocking out Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in the play-off round under Giovanni van Bronckhorst to seal a first group stage appearance in 12 years.

With Beale now in charge of the Govan side, the Englishman will be confident his new-look squad can make further progress in European competition as they plot a route back to Europe’s top table among the elite.

So what do we know about Rangers third qualifying round opponents? GlasgowWorld breaks down everything all the key information...

Having finished runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last term, Rangers entered the ‘League’ path and were one of four seeded teams on this side of the draw, which meant they avoided the likes of PSV, Olympique Marseille or SC Braga.

Potential unseeded opponents included: Dnipro-1 (Ukraine) or Panathinaikos (Greece), TSC Backa Topola (Serbia), Sturm Graz (Austria), KRC Gent (Belgium) or Servette (Switzerland).

Servette

• Founded: 20 March 1890; 133 years ago
• Manager: René Weiler
• Ground: Stade de Genève (30,084 capacity)
• Nickname: Les Grenats (The Maroons)
• 2022/23: Swiss Super League, 2nd of 10

Rangers have never played the Swiss outfit - UEFA’s local team - in competitive action. Based in Gevena, the club have received strong financial backing in recent years. Last season’s squad of players includeded a couple of familiar names to followers of British football. Ex-Manchester City full-back Gael Clichy, former Celtic loanee Moritz Bauer and one-time Newcastle United defender Kevin Mbabu were among their ranks but have since departed the club.

K.R.C. Genk

• Founded: 1988; 35 years ago, after merging with KFC Winterslag
• Manager: Wouter Vrancken
• Ground: Cegeka Arena (23,718 capacity)
• Nickname: Blauw-Wit (Blue-White)
• 2022/23: Belgian Pro League, 2nd of 18

Rangers have a direct link to the Belgians through former manager Alex McLeish. The ex-Scotland boss teamed up with Alex Rae for season 2014/15 with Genk and the pair led the club to 18 wins and 10 draws in 35 matches, including in the Europa League play-offs.

Another old Rangers player Thomas Buffel made over 250 appearances for Genk after his stint in Glasgow. The club are back competition in Europe following a two-year absence.

Fans reaction to draw:

@JordSoRare: “Should be beating either of those fairly easily if we’re being brutally honest.”

@ravenraven22: “Genk are a good team. Really tough draw, I think we’ll be underdogs.”

@petera1872: “Toughest draw on paper imo and not ideal having home tie first. However, if we can’t beat teams like these we have no right to be in the Champions League anyway.”

@martinsuth90: “Can’t help but think these games are too early for the squad turnover we have. Big ask.”

@arfieldloyal_37: “Roofe, Raskin and Dessers have all got experience of that (Belgian) league. Let’s take the positive and say do Genk really fancy their chances against Rangers?”

@Levi_Stubbs: “That’s a nasty draw - both are good and about two weeks ahead of us in relation to match sharpness.”