Europa League: Who awaits Rangers in last 16 clash as draw set to take place

Rangers are the last Scottish team left in European competition as they look to put together another memorable run in the Europa League.

Fans of the Premiership leaders will have fond memories of their journey to Seville in 2022 and will be hoping Philippe Clement’s side can achieve something similar this season.

They are now only three ties away from the final being held in Dublin in May after topping their group earlier this season.

Sitting two points clear of Celtic in the league and still in the Scottish Cup it will all be systems go for the Ibrox side as they fight in three competitions.

The draw for the Europa League last 16 takes place on Friday with some tasty ties potentially on the horizon.

Rangers won’t be the only British team involved in the draw with English Premier League sides Liverpool, West Ham and Brighton also taking their place.

However Clement’s men won’t be coming up against either of those sides as all four are seeded alongside the likes of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, Atalanta and Slavia Prague.

So who could be coming to Glasgow for the last 16 ties?

The games will be played on March 7 and March 14 with seeded sides at home the second leg.

We take a look at who Rangers could potentially be drawn against in the draw that will take place at around 11am.

Potential last 16 opponents for Rangers:

AC Milan

The seven-time European champions are the biggest unseeded name in the draw and would provide a bit of a glamour tie for the Ibrox faithful but would represent a massive task.

The San Siro side currently sit third in Serie A and qualified for the last 16 with a 5-3 aggregate win over French side Lens.

They are not quite the team of old that dominated European football for spells, but with players such as Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and France forward Olivier Giroud they still represent one of the harder tasks potentially coming between Rangers and the quarter-finals.

AS Roma

Roma won the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 and were defeated Europa League finalists last season so they certainly have some recent European pedigree.

However after a poor run of form this season manager Jose Mourinho was sacked and they currently sit sixth in the Serie A.

They qualified for the last 16 after beating Dutch champions Feyenoord in a penalty shootout on Thursday night.

SC Freiburg

The German side are currently on a five-match winless run in the league but secured their place in the last 16 with an extra-time win over Lens in France.

Currently sitting eighth in the Bundesliga they might represent one of the kinder draws for Rangers but not one to be taken lightly.

Sporting Lisbon

A team playing in green and white hoops will always be welcome at Ibrox and Rangers have a good record against Portuguese sides in recent seasons.

However Sporting are currently on a good run of form and sit joint top of the league behind Benfica on goal-difference only, but still have a game in hand.

The knocked out Swiss side Young Boys to reach the last 16 on Thursday night.

Benfica

The Portuguese league leaders and two-time European champions are not the team of old and might not be as difficult a task as their famous name suggests.

They reached the last 16 with a 2-1 victory over Toulouse.

Marseille

Rangers fans with long memories will remember Marseille as the team that came between them and the closest they have ever got to club football’s biggest prize when the French side topped their Champions League semi-final group and went on to win the tournament.

They finished a single point ahead of Walter Smith’s men after two hard-fought draws in Glasgow and the south of France in the 1992/93 campaign before going on to defeat AC Milan in the final in what was the first ever Champions League since it’s rebrand from the European Cup format.

They currently sit ninth in Ligue 1 suggesting they might not be a team to fear for Philippe Clement’s men and secured their place in the draw with a 5-3 aggregate win of Shahktar Donetsk.

Sparta Prague

This is another tie that Rangers fans might fancy and a team they know pretty well with a series of games including in this year’s group stage.

The Ibrox side got a draw in Prague before running out winners in Glasgow and finished ahead of the Czech side in the group.

Sparta reached the last 16 with a 6-4 aggregate win over Galatasaray.

Qarabag

On paper Qarabag are probably the least known club left in the competition and therefore might be the one name that Rangers fans are looking at for Friday’s draw.

But they knocked out Portuguese side Braga 6-5 in the playoff round to reach the last 16 and showed they are no mugs.