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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gabriel McKay

The one side Rangers don't want to be paired against in Europa League draw

Despite all three sides being seeded for Monday's Europa League draw, the Premiership representatives could face some tricky ties.

Aberdeen and Motherwell cruised through their first ties, and are joined in the second qualification round by Rangers.

With seeding on their side, none of the Scottish clubs can face giants like Tottenham or Milan at this stage.

That means they can be confident of progressing, but there are still some potential pitfalls lying in wait.

Here's who all three teams could draw, and the lowdown on the potential opponents.

Aberdeen

(PA)

Bala Town

The Lakesiders finished third in last season's Welsh Premier League, seven points behind champions Connah's Quay Nomads in a curtailed campaign.

They reached this stage with a 1-0 win over Maltese side Valletta.

Viking FK

Viking Stavanger return to European competition for the first time in more than a decade, having finished fifth in the Norwegian top flight.

They've faced Scottish opposition twice before, losing to Dundee United in the 1982-83 UEFA Cup before knocking Kilmarnock out of the same competition 19 years later..

Progres Niederkorn

The Luxembourgers need no introduction to Scottish football fans, after their famous win over Rangers in 2016.

They suffered a 2-0 aggregate defeat to the same opposition last season, and beat Zeta in the first qualifying round.

Motherwell

(Getty Images)

IFK Goteborg

The Allsvenskan side are one of the more difficult of the unseeded sides.

They can boast Swedish international Pontus Wernbloom, while veteran Alexander Farnerud has experience in the Bundesliga and Serie A.

They're having a poor league season though, with an incredible 11 draws from 18 games leaving them just one point above the relegation play-offs.

Coleraine

Managed by former St Mirren boss Oran Kearney, Coleraine pulled off the shock of the first qualifying round as they eliminated NK Maribor.

Motherwell thrashed Glentoran in the last round, but will still have to be wary if they draw another Northern Irish side.

B36 Torshavn

With all due respect, a part-time Faroese side should present a relatively straightforward draw.

Torshavn have won their domestic league on 11 occasions but currently sit third, nine points behind leaders Havnar Boltfelag.

Rangers

(Action Images via Reuters)

FK Borac Banja Luka

The name of the Bosnian side doesn't exactly trip off the tongue.

They finished last season in fourth place, nine behind FK Sarajevo, and their star man is goalscoring midfielder Stojan Vranjes.

Servette FC

A tie against one of Switzerland's biggest clubs is probably one that Rangers want to avoid.

Servette finished fourth in the Super League last season, and have been champions on 17 occasions.

They have a familiar face up-front in the shape of former Ross County man Alex Schalk, while defender Alexis Martial is the cousin of Manchester United forward Anthony.

Lincoln Red Imps

This would be a popular draw for Rangers fans, and not just because they'd expect to beat a side from Gibraltar.

The Red Imps famously beat Celtic in Brendan Rodgers' first competitive game, and reached this stage after being given a bye against Prishtina in the preliminary round before beating Luxembourgers Union Titus Petange.

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