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Champions League qualifying: Rangers v Panathinaikos

Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Date: Tuesday, 22 July Time: 19:45 BST

Protection: Pay attention on BBC Radio Scotland Further & Sounds, reside textual content commentary on the BBC Sport web site & app

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Sixty-six days after they concluded an uninspiring, at occasions listless, season, Rangers face some of the vital video games they’ll face within the new marketing campaign as quickly because the beginning gun is fired.

Handed the worst attainable draw within the second qualifying spherical for Europe’s premier membership competitors, an arduous and harmful path in the direction of the Champions League lies forward for brand spanking new head coach Russell Martin.

Paired with Greek Tremendous League runners-up Panathinaikos, it could not have been a lot more durable and the query is are Rangers prepared for this trepidatious journey?

For those who embrace the now contracted Oscar Cortes, the membership has made eight new signings for the season forward.

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Sadly for Martin, one among them, Norway worldwide Thelo Aasgaard, will miss the primary leg at Ibrox on Tuesday night whereas the latest of the arrivals, Djeidi Gassama, isn’t prepared to start out.

The actual fact is that his new team-mates need to be prepared to start out and barely has the membership’s motto been extra pertinent.

The riches and status that the Champions League brings has all the time targeted minds and it’s one thing that their metropolis rivals Celtic have secured in every of the previous three seasons, though such is the state of Scotland’s coefficient, even Brendan Rodgers’ facet need to qualify this time, albeit two rounds later.

The brand new format of the match seems kinder to Scottish hopes of development, as demonstrated in Glasgow’s east finish final time period. The prize is there for each.

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Rangers additionally know who they’ll face if they will get previous Rui Vitoria’s facet with former foes Servette and Czechs Viktoria Plzen mendacity in wait and, given the more durable process of Besiktas or Shakhtar Donetsk awaiting as a part of their Europa League insurance coverage coverage, there may be much more motivation for negotiating this one.

Victory would additionally assure at the very least Europa League soccer till January.

What’s a giant Rangers squad would require additional surgical procedure however Martin has needed to scramble collectively a staff that he’ll hope can get them previous a Panathinaikos that was as far behind Tremendous League winners Olympiacos as Rangers had been Celtic.

The Rangers followers have caught sight of their staff as soon as this pre-season in a 2-2 draw with Membership Brugge and simply one among Martin’s new signings began, on-loan full-back Max Aarons.

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They’ve had some bounce video games as effectively – however will it show to be sufficient to stand up to full readiness and breed the brand new gamers right into a squad that was desperately in want of a rebuild?

Vitoria has ‘ambition and perception’

They do not want lengthy recollections for inspiration that they will recover from this hurdle having produced a Europa League attract Pireaus in opposition to eventual Greek champions Olympiacos final November.

Portuguese coach Vitoria has made minimal modifications to his squad from final season and stays hopeful of coercing Morocco worldwide midfielder Azzedine Ounahi again to Athens after a fruitful season on mortgage from Marseille final time period, though Spaniards Girona have additionally been eager on one of many North African nation’s 2022 World Cup stars.

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Panathinaikos made the final 16 of the Convention League in season 2024-25, shedding out to Fiorentina, however the 1971 runners-up have not competed within the Champions League correct for 15 years. It’s one thing they’re determined to rectify as they rounded off their pre-season with a 3-1 win over Belgians Westerlo in Athens’ Olympic Stadium, the place they’ll host Rangers subsequent Wednesday.

“These matches are all the time totally different from the official ones,” midfielder Adam Cerin mentioned after that recreation.

“Issues aren’t straightforward however we confirmed that we’re in good condition. There are components just like the ambiance at Ibrox. We ready effectively and we are going to give all the pieces.

“We’ll give our greatest for a consequence there in order that we will come to Athens with a constructive consequence.”

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Coach Vitoria is assured that they will edge previous their Scottish hosts over the 2 legs, saying: “We’ve got ambition, high quality and we need to qualify in opposition to Rangers.

“Rangers, they’re a powerful staff, they’ve a historical past in Europe and particularly within the Champions League, however we’ve our personal probabilities. We’ve got ambition and perception in our talents, we’ve high quality, we imagine in ourselves and we need to qualify.”

With temperatures in Athens on account of hit 41 levels this week, Martin will know the significance of taking a bonus to the traditional metropolis for subsequent week’s return, prepared or not.