Europa League draw: Rangers could face Northern Irish side as Hearts land champions

The Ibrox side will take on either Larne or Georgian outfit Iberia Tblisi after the draw was made in Nyon on Monday - if they manage to defeat their Polish opponents in the third qualifying round.

Rangers play the first leg of that match this Thursday in Poland before welcoming Jagellonia to Ibrox seven days later. And they now know the reward should they prevail.

Northern Irish champions Larne, who dropped into the Europa League after losing 9-0 on aggregate to Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League second qualifying round, have never faced Scottish opposition before and would be a short journey across the Irish Sea for the Ibrox side.

They are managed by Gary Haveron and play at Inver Park, which has a capacity of 3,000. The tie would likely be moved to Windsor Park in Belfast should they meet Rangers. Former Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic striker Kevin O’Hara and Airdrieonians goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson are in their squad.

Iberia Tblisi are the Georgian title winners and dropped into the Europa League after defeat by Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League. They are managed by Andriy Demchenko and their home ground is David Petriashvili Stadium, with a capacity of just over 2,000. Like Larne, their home tie would likely be moved to a larger arena.

Iberia have won the Erovnuli Liga for the past two seasons and have emerged as one of Georgia’s most powerful clubs.

Rangers would be at home first should they get past Jagellonia and would drop into the Conference League play-offs should they lose out to the Poles.

Hearts were the other Scottish side in the Europa League draw and they will play either Danish side Aarhus or Sabah of Azerbaijan should the Jambos cause a major surprise and find a way past the Portuguese giants.

Aarhus v Sabah is a Champions League third qualifying round tie, meaning that Hearts would play the loser, who would drop into the Europa League.

Managed by Jakob Poulsen, Aarhus stunned Danish football by pipping Midtylland to the league crown and they play at Ceres Park Vejlby with a capacity of 11,000.

Sabah also upset the odds to win the Azeri Premier League last season and they play in the Azeri city of Masazir. Managed by Valdas Dambrauskas, they play at Bank Respublika Arena with a capacity of just under 9,000.

Like Rangers, should Hearts lose in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, they would drop into the Conference League play-off round.

The ties are due to be played on August 20 and August 27. UEFA will publish the full match schedule in the next 24 hours - including any potential stadium or city clashes.

Full Europa League play-off draw: Trabzonspor v Ferencvaros/Gornik Zabrze, KuPS/Universidad Craoiva v Ararat/Celje, Sint-Truiden v Lincoln Red Imps/Omonia, Hapoel Be’er Sheva/Red Star Belgrade v Viktoria Plzen, Shamrock Rovers/Egnatia v Lillestrom, Jagellonia/Rangers v Larne/Iberia Tblisi, Mjallby/Slovan Bratislava v Pafos/Salzburg, Levski Sofia/Kairat Almaty v PAOK/Anderlecht, Lech Poznan/Klaskvik v FC Thun/Vikingur, Hradlec Kralove/Besiktas v Dinamo Zagreb/Kauno Zalgiris, Benfica/Hearts v Aarhus/Sabah, OFI Crete v Maccabi Tel Aviv/CSKA Sofia.