The key Rangers Champions League dates as road to Euro riches mapped out for Philippe Clement

Rangers once again will need to face the hard task of the qualification route in order to dine out at Europe's top table.

The newly revamped Champions League comes increased riches and with rivals Celtic guaranteed a spot in the group stage and the financial boost that comes with competing on the big stage, Philippe Clement and Co will be determined to join the party. The Hoops gain access to the tournament proper once again after their Scottish Premiership title triumph with the Light Blues having to do things the hard way following their second place finish.

It's the same path they've faced in the last couple of seasons with Giovanni van Bronckhorst successful in his attempts before a group stage to forget while Michael Beale fell at the final hurdle. Rangers face a big summer once more as Clement looks to do his wheeling and dealing early to give his side the best possible chance of the big time. After a thumping by PSV last season, they will be all out to make things right. Here Record Sport looks at some of the key dates on the UEFA calendar for fans to look out for.

Third qualifying round draw

Like previous campaigns, this is where Rangers will get up and running in their bid to make their Champions League dream a reality. That all kick-offs with the draw which takes place on 22 July 2024.

The Light Blues will enter the non-champions route. On this date they will discover who they will face both home and away in their quest to reach the play-off round and to within one tie of the big time.

The third qualifying round takes place in August with the first games played over the midweek of Tuesday the 6th and Wednesday the 7th. Return fixtures are played one week later on the 13th - just a week between both games. The new Scottish Premiership season will be up and running the weekend before the first leg tie is played.

Play off draw

If Rangers safely navigate the third qualifying round hurdle - a task they have managed in the past two seasons - it will then be a straight shootout to reach the group stages. In the past two seasons the Light Blues have faced PSV with the Ibrox men successful over the two legs first time around but last season they suffered a second leg battering by the Eredivisie outfit.

The play-off round draw takes place on the 5th August, meaning Philippe Clement and his troops will know who they could come up against BEFORE they play their third qualifying round tie. The two matches at this stage take place on the midweek of August 20/21 with the return just one week later on August 27/28. Victory would ensure safe passage to the competition proper with all eyes on the main draw on August 29 - just one day after the play-off qualifying route concludes.

What is the new Champions League format?

Should Rangers go all the way to the group stage, this is where the big changes come into play. This year it will be a single 36-team league stage. Each side faces eight different teams with four home games and four away. The top eight go directly into the round of 16 with clubs 9th to 24th competing in the knockout round play-offs. The winners advance to the next stage and from then on it is a straight knock out. Clubs finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated - with NO fall-back access to the Europa League this time.

Champions League league stage

The draw for this new league stage takes place on August 29. This is where all the big hitters like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, PSG, Bayer Leverkusen all get involved. Celtic are already in the hat and should Rangers join them here are the key match dates for the diary.

Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024, Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024, Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024, Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024, Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024, Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024, Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025, Matchday 8: 29 January 2025.

Champions League knockout stage

Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025 Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025, Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025, Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025, Final: 31 May 2025,

Europa League

The parachute of Europa League football is there for Rangers once again should they suffer defeat in the qualifiers. A loss in either of their qualifiers and they will drop into the Europa League group stages - as they did last season. Like the Champions League, the league phase for the second tier competition also takes place on August 29. The first match day is September 25/26