Rangers to meet Dynamo Kyiv or Partizan Belgrade

Rangers start in the third qualifying round of the Champions League for the fourth successive season

Rangers will meet Dynamo Kyiv or Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

The winner will progress to the play-off stage, where a place in the new 36-team league format will be at stake.

The two legs are on 6/7 August and 13 August - with Rangers away from home first - while the play-off round draw takes place on 5 August.

Should Rangers lose this tie or in the play-off round, they will enter the Europa League group stage.

Dynamo host Partizan in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie on Tuesday, with the return leg in Serbia eight days later.

The team from Ukraine will play their home match in Lublin, Poland, because of the ongoing hostilities with Russia.

This is the fourth successive season the Ibrox side have started out in the third qualifying round of the competition.

Last term, Rangers beat Servette before losing to PSV Eindhoven in the play-off - then went on to reach the round of 16 in the Europa League.

Like Rangers, Dynamo and Partizan were runners-up in their leagues last season.

Who might Rangers face?

Dynamo Kyiv

Sixteen-times winners of the Ukrainian top flight, Dynamo narrowly missed out on a 17th title last term after losing the league by just two points to rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.

They failed to qualify for the group stage last season, losing to Besitkas in the Conference League play-off round.

Former Ukraine goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's squad is littered with current internationals, including 34-year-old former West Ham United and Borussia Dortmund forward Andriy Yarmolenko.

Vladyslav Vanat, 12 years Yarmolenko's younger, who was Dynamo's star man last season, scoring 14 goals in 30 games.

A match-up between Dynamo and Rangers would present an unusual scenario where neither team would play their home game at their own ground.

While Dynamo will play their home leg in Poland, Rangers will host at Hampden Park because of delayed stadium work at Ibrox.

Partizan Belgrade

Just like Dynamo, Partizan lost out on their domestic league title to their fiercest rivals last season.

They finished second behind Red Star, who claimed the Serbian top-flight crown by a seven-point margin.

Partizan also faltered at the qualifying stage of the Conference League when they lost to Danish side Nordsjælland in the play-off round.

New head coach Aleksandar Stanojević's attack is spearheaded by talented 24-year-old Brazilian Matheus Saldanha, who scored 18 goals last term and netted a late winner in their league opener against Napredak on Friday.