![\"Derek](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/skysports-rangers-derek-mcinnes_7311546.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCeltic will play Austrian champions LASK for a place in the league phase of the Champions League, while Brighton will face CFR Cluj or Tromso in the Conference League play-off round.<\/p>\n
The draws for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League play-offs were made on Monday, with Rangers, Hearts, Hibernian, Motherwell and Larne also learning their qualifying routes.<\/p>\n
Martin O’Neill’s Celtic will host the first leg of their tie against LASK on August 18 or 19, with the return fixture on August 25 or 26. The losers of the tie will drop into the league phase of the Europa League.<\/p>\n
Brighton, who finished eighth in the Premier League last season, will play Romanian side CFR Cluj or Norwegian club Tromso to decide who will reach the Conference League’s league phase.<\/p>\n
The tie will be played on August 20 and 27, with Brighton hosting the second leg, either side of their opening game of the season at home to Aston Villa on August 23, live on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
Rangers and Hearts learn Europa League routes<\/p>\n
Rangers and Hearts discovered their Europa League play-off opponents, should they win their third-round qualifying ties.<\/p>\n
Derek McInnes’ Rangers side travel to Poland this week to face Jagiellonia Bialystok on Thursday in the first leg, with the second leg next week.<\/p>\n
Should they win, they will play Northern Irish champions Larne or Iberia 1999 of Georgia in the play-offs. The first leg on August 20 would be at Ibrox, with the return tie the following week.<\/p>\n
If Larne lose, they will move into the Conference League play-offs and play Lincoln Red Imps or Omonia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Image:
\n Derek McInnes is searching for his first victory as Rangers manager<\/p>\n
Hearts, who dropped into the Europa League after their Champions League exit, have been drawn against AGF Aarhus of Denmark or Sabah of Azerbaijan in the play-off round.<\/p>\n
The first leg of that tie would be at Tynecastle Park on August 20, with the return tie on August 27.<\/p>\n
However, Wouter Vrancken’s side must first get past Benfica in the third-round qualifying tie. They are away in Portugal on Thursday and back at home next week.<\/p>\n
Both clubs will be guaranteed another chance at qualifying for a European competition this season, with the Conference League play-off round awaiting if they lose in the third round of the Europa League.<\/p>\n
Rangers would play Jablonec or RFS while Hearts would be up against Paide or SK Rapid.<\/p>\n
That has resulted in both clubs requesting that their league game between the first and second legs of any potential play-off tie be postponed, meaning Rangers’ game against St Mirren and Hearts’ trip to Falkirk are both to be rearranged.<\/p>\n
Motherwell and Hibs discover Conference League fate<\/p>\n
Motherwell will play Bundesliga club Freiburg – last season’s Europa League finalists – in the Conference League play-off round if they beat HJK Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Alfred Johansson’s side visit HJK on Wednesday in the third qualifying round, with the second leg at Fir Park on Thursday August 13.<\/p>\n
Hibernian will play IFK Gothenburg or Gent in the Conference League play-off round should they get past KF Shkendija.<\/p>\n
Hibs host Shkendija on Thursday with the second leg on August 13 for a place in the play-offs.<\/p>\n
The Conference League play-offs take place on August 20 and 27.<\/p>\n
Champions League play-off draw<\/p>\n
First legs on August 18\/19 with second legs on August 25\/26 <\/p>\n
Levski Sofia\/Kairat Almaty vs AEK Athens<\/p>\n
Celtic vs LASK<\/p>\n
Dinamo Zagreb\/Kauno Zalgiris vs Viking<\/p>\n
Mjallby\/Slovan Bratislava vs Ararat-Armenia\/Celje<\/p>\n
Hapoel Be’er Sheva\/Red Star Belgrade vs AGF Aarhus\/Sabah<\/p>\n
Fenerbahce\/Sturm Graz vs Sparta Prague\/Lyon<\/p>\n
Olympiakos\/NEC Nijmegen vs Union Saint-Gilloise\/Bodo\/Glimt<\/p>\n
Europa League play-off draw<\/p>\n
First legs on August 20, with second legs on August 27<\/p>\n
Trabzonspor vs Ferencvaros\/Gornik Zabrze<\/p>\n
KuPS Kuopio\/Universitatea Craiova vs Ararat-Armenia\/Celje<\/p>\n
Sint-Truiden vs Lincoln Red Imps\/Omonia<\/p>\n
Hapoel Be’er Sheva\/Red Star Belgrade vs Viktoria Plzen<\/p>\n
Shamrock Rovers\/Egnatia vs Lillestrom<\/p>\n
Jagiellonia Bialystok\/Rangers vs Larne\/Iberia 1999 Tbilisi<\/p>\n
Mjallby\/Slovan Bratislava vs Pafos\/Salzburg<\/p>\n
Levski Sofia\/Kairat Almaty vs PAOK\/Anderlecht<\/p>\n
Lech Poznan\/KI Klaksvik vs Thun\/Vikingur Reykjavik<\/p>\n
Hradec Kralove\/Besiktas vs Dinamo Zagreb\/Kauno Zalgiris<\/p>\n
Benfica\/Hearts vs AGF Aarhus\/Sabah<\/p>\n
OFI Crete vs Maccabi Tel Aviv\/CSKA Sofia<\/p>\n
Conference League play-off draw<\/p>\n
First legs on August 20, with second legs on August 27<\/p>\n
Thun\/Vikingur Reykjavik vs Borac\/ML Vitebsk<\/p>\n
Shamrock Rovers\/Egnatia vs KuPS Kuopio\/Universitatea Craiova<\/p>\n
Tre Fiori\/Drita vs Inter Escaldes\/Flora Tallinn<\/p>\n
Lech Poznan\/KI Klaksvik vs Riga\/Gyori ETO<\/p>\n
Lincoln Red Imps\/Omonia vs Larne\/Iberia 1999 Tbilisi<\/p>\n
HJK\/Motherwell vs Freiburg<\/p>\n
Ferencvaros\/Gornik Zabrze vs Monaco<\/p>\n
Inter Turku\/Vaduz vs Debrecen\/Copenhagen<\/p>\n
Benfica\/Hearts vs Paide\/Rapid Vienna<\/p>\n
CFR Cluj\/Tromso vs Brighton<\/p>\n
Zalgiris\/Hajduk Split vs Rakow\/Hammarby<\/p>\n
Panathinaikos\/CSKA 1948 vs Hradec Kralove\/Besiktas<\/p>\n
IFK Goteborg\/Gent vs Hibernian\/Shkendija<\/p>\n
PAOK\/Anderlecht vs Brann\/Apollon<\/p>\n
Atalanta vs Hapoel Tel Aviv\/Katowice<\/p>\n
Bohemians\/Midtjylland vs Rijeka\/Ilves<\/p>\n
Jagiellonia Bialystok\/Rangers vs Jablonec\/RFS<\/p>\n
Valur\/Nordsjaelland vs Sheriff\/St Gallen<\/p>\n
Auda\/Dinamo City vs Pafos\/Salzburg<\/p>\n
Noah\/Sion vs Ajax\/Shelbourne<\/p>\n
Braga\/Dinamo Minsk vs Beitar Jerusalem\/Austria Vienna<\/p>\n
Twente\/DAC 1904 vs Dynamo Kyiv\/Qarabag<\/p>\n
Getafe vs Partizan\/Tobol<\/p>\n
Lugano\/Runavik vs Maccabi Tel Aviv\/CSKA Sofia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celtic will play Austrian champions LASK for a place in the league phase of the Champions League, while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-801355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}