PSV and Monaco profiled as Rangers draw big hitters in Champions League playoff round

Rangers' big Champions League Tuesday has started with a bang. Before Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's side have even kicked a ball in the third qualifying round against Union Saint-Gilloise, their potential playoff round opponents have been revealed.

The Ibrox side faced the possibility of drawing the winners of Dynamo Kyiv vs Sturm Graz or PSV Eindhoven vs Monaco. Rangers never seem to do things the easy way on the Continent, so naturally, it was always going to be the latter pairing, wasn't it? Their path to the group stage is now set and there's no denying it's a difficult one. Should van Bronckhorst's team see off Union SG, they'll be off to either France or the Netherlands to face one of two very handy sides. Still, at least it wasn’t Benfica.

A home tie in the first leg has its advantages but, mind you, Rangers did seem to thrive on getting teams "back to Ibrox" in last season's run to the Europa League Final. Rangers may be billed as underdogs if they get past the Belgians but those exploits on the road Seville means they'll hold no fear, no matter who comes next.

The ties are set to be played across August 16/17 and 23/24, with UEFA to confirm exact dates in due course. Here, Record Sport Online takes a closer look at PSV and Monaco.

The Eredivisie side are now managed by a club legend in Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is embarking on his first full campaign as boss. For much of last season, they were under the guidance of Roger Schmidt and pushed Ajax all the way in the Dutch league, eventually losing out to Erik ten Hag's much-lauded side by just two points after van Nistelrooy took the reigns in March.

They did, however, beat Ajax 2-1 in the Dutch Cup Final to ensure they did not finish the campaign empty handed