Rangers Europa League group stage draw LIVE REACTION as Beale's men face Real Betis and two league winners
THE names have all been drawn and Rangers know who they will face in this season's Europa League group stage campaign.
Rangers are in Group C where they will face a tough test against Spanish cracks Real Betis, Czech title winners Sparta Prague and Cypriot champions Aris Limassol.
That's a wrap
The Europa League group stage draw has now drawn to a close as Rangers learn their opponents this season.
The Light Blues will take on Real Betis, Sparta Prague and Aris Limassol with fixtures commencing next month.
Thank you for joining us for our coverage of the draw and stay tuned with SunSport to learn who Aberdeen will take on in the Conference League next!
Return to Seville
Rangers will return to Seville for vengeance this campaign after losing out to Eintracht Frankfurt in the final of the Europa League two seasons ago.
The Light Blues were defeated on penalties at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium last year, the home of La Liga side Sevilla.
Pot 2 side Real Betis are situated across the city so it will be a familiar trip for the thousands of Rangers fans who travelled over last May.
Michael Beale’s men will hope to make up for that devastating night in Spain with three points against the La Liga giants this time around.
The draw in full
Here are the finalised groups for this year's Europa League campaign.
Rangers have been given one of the toughest groups but there's some tasty ties in Group B in particular!
Europa League groups in full
Group A: West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg and Backa Topola
Group B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton and AEK Athens
Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Prague and Aris Limassol
Group D: Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon, Sturm Graz and Rakow
Group E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG and Toulouse
Group F: Villarreal, Rennes, Maccabi Haifa and Panathinaikos
Group G: Roma, Slavia Prague, Sheriff Tiraspol and Servette
Group H: Leverkusen, Qarabag, Molde and BK Hacken
Rangers' finalised group revealed
Cypriot side Aris Limassol join the Light Blues in Group C as the Pot Four club.
Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Prague and Aris Limassol
Pot 3 rivals
It's another tricky test for Rangers in Pot Three as they face old foes Sparta Prague.
Group C so far: Rangers, Real Betis and Sparta Prague
Gers learn Pot 2 opponents
Rangers have drawn Spanish giants Real Betis from Pot Two.
Group C so far: Rangers and Real Betis
Pot One in full
Here is how the groups look so far:
Group A: West Ham
Group B: Ajax
Group C: RANGERS
Group D: Atalanta
Group E: Liverpool
Group F: Villarreal
Group G: Roma
Gers learn group
Don't get too excited, they still need to discover their opponents.
But the Ibrox club enter Group C!
The wait is over
We are finally underway and West Ham are the first team out of the hat.
They will enter Group A and will await to see their opponents from the other pots.
Ajax will take Group B.
Legends arrive
Sevilla are the current holders of the competition and the trophy has been brought to the stage by former striker Stephane Mbia, who won it twice under Unai Emery.
Host city ambassador and Manchester United legend John O'Shea is representing Dublin and the pair will help carry out the draw.
Award winners
Before we get underway there's a couple of awards to hand out from last year's Europa League campaign.
Sevilla's Jesus Navas has been named the tournament's Player of the Year whilst Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Witz receives the Young Player of the Year award.
Stage is set
Coverage of today's Europa League draw has now begun and we're minutes away from the first club being drawn out of the hat.
Rangers will be one of the first teams out as Pot One kicks off the proceedings.
Not long now until the Light Blues learn their fate!
Last time out
Rangers have history of going all the way to the final in the competition.
It was only last year that the Ibrox club defied the odds to reach the last two as they booked a Seville showdown with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Light Blues knocked out the likes of Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Braga and Crvena Zvezda on their route to Spain.
But it was a devastating end for the Glasgow club as they crashed out on penalties to the Bundesliga club and their wait for more European silverware continued.
15 minute warning!
The start of the draw is fast approaching as club representatives take their seats inside the Grimaldo Forum in Monaco.
It's set to be a nail-biter for all clubs involved as they discover their European fate.
SunSport's LIVE blog will keep you up-to-date with all the drama!
Dream outcome
From Pot Two, a short flight to France to face Rennes might appeal and likewise, Gers would fancy their chances against LASK of Austria.
But Qarabag only just sneaked into Pot Two and despite the long flight to Azerbaijan, the Light Blues should have enough quality to see them off.
Sheriff Tiraspol are probably the least-feared side from Pot Three.
The Moldovan champions stunned Real Madrid in the Champions League a couple of seasons ago but have lost players since then and were eliminated in the groups last year and then beaten in the first knockout phase of the Conference League.
From Pot Four it's a toss up between TSC of Serbia and Rakow Czestochowa of Poland.
The latter are Polish champions and have the bigger stadium and while their current league campaign isn't off to a great start, they have more experience in European football than their Serbian counterparts - who have also never won the domestic title.
Best-case group: RANGERS, Qarabag, Sheriff Tiraspol, TSC.
30 minutes to go!
Just half an hour remains before the draw commences!
Who do you have your eyes on, Rangers fans?
Nightmare draw
Whilst Rangers are guaranteed to avoid several European giants with their Pot One slot, there's still several clubs the Light Blues will hope to avoid.
Sporting Lisbon could prove to be the trickiest test from Pot Two but they won't want to face Real Betis or Marseille either.
Old foes Union Saint-Gilloise and Sparta Prague enter the draw as Pot Three clubs whilst Brighton are also a possibility.
Rangers knocked Servette out in the Champions League qualifiers but a rematch is on the cards with the Swiss club in Pot Four.
However, AEK Athens is perhaps the least favourable from that section.
Nightmare scenario: RANGERS, Sporting Lisbon, Brighton, AEK Athens.
Who can Rangers face
Rangers are among the clubs at the top of the pile in Pot One.
They are joined by West Ham, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta.
Pot Two: Sporting Lisbon, Slavia Prague, Rennes, Olympiacos, Real Betis, LASK, Marseille, Qarabag.
Pot Three: Molde, Brighton, Sheriff Tiraspol, Union Saint-Gilloise, Freiburg, Sparta Prague, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm Graz.
Pot Four: Toulouse, AEK Athens, TSC, Servette, Panathinaikos, Rakow Czestochowa, Aris Limassol, BK Hacken
Big hitters
Rangers are among the top seeds in Pot One of the Europa League draw.
It will see them avoid several European giants including Liverpool, Ajax and Roma.
As is normal procedure, they'll face a team each from Pot Two, Pot Three and Pot Four.
The group winners and runners-up will advance in the Europa League with the third-placed team transferring to the Europa Conference League.
All the details
Not long to wait now, Rangers fans!
The draw takes place at the Grimaldo Forum in Monaco and will commence at 12pm midday UK time.
It will be on shown live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 12pm before the action gets underway.
TNT Sports subscribers can stream the draw online or the TNT Sports App. It will also be available to stream live on UEFA.com.
Alternatively, you can follow the draw LIVE with SunSport's live blog.
Good Morning
Hello and welcome to SunSport’s live coverage of today’s Europa League group stage draw.
Time is ticking for Rangers fans to find out who they’ll face in Europe this season after crashing out of Champions League qualifying to PSV on Wednesday.
Scotland only have one representative in the competition’s main stage after Aberdeen failed to qualify following their two-leg defeat BK Hacken.
The Dons will be in the hat for the Conference League draw which commences shortly after Rangers discover their fate.
Michael Beale’s men have been given a favourable spot in Pot One for today’s draw after Sparta Prague knocked out Dinamo Zagreb last night and it means they will avoid some big hitters including Liverpool and Ajax.
But there’s still plenty of glamour ties on the horizon with several European giants dotted around the smaller pots.
