Rangers and Celtic will both be in pot two for this morning’s Europa League draw in Istanbul – meaning both sides of the Old Firm will avoid a potential clash with the likes of Leicester City or PSV Eindhoven in the groups.
Both Rangers and Celtic had to rely on home wins in the first leg of their playoff ties to secure their place in the groups and UEFA confirmed the pots this morning ahead of the 11am draw.
As well as Leicester and PSV, the Old Firm will avoid the likes of Red Star, Frankfurt, Genk and Lokomotiv Moscow – but do face some tough opposition in the revamped competition.
While this season’s Europa League group stages will only feature 32 teams rather than 48, there will be an added playoff round following the groups where the runner-up will face teams who finished third in the Champions League groups for a place in the last 16.
The first group game takes place on September 16 with the final round of fixtures on December 9 and the draw will be streamed live on UEFA’s website.
Here are the pots in full for this morning’s Europa League draw with Rangers and Celtic in pot 2:
Pot 1
Lyon (FRA)
Napoli (ITA)
Leverkusen (GER)
GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Lazio (ITA)
Olympiacos (GRE)
Monaco (FRA)
Braga (POR)
Pot 2
Celtic
Rangers
Frankfurt (GER)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Leicester (ENG)
Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
Genk (BEL)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Pot 3
Marseille (FRA)
Ludogorets (BUL)
West Ham (ENG)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Real Betis (ESP)
Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Spartak Moskva (RUS)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Pot 4
Rapid Wien (AUT)
Galatasaray (TUR)
Legia Warszawa (POL)
Midtjylland (DEN)
Ferencváros (HUN)
Antwerp (BEL)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Brøndby (DEN)
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
