DMAA

Why not, is it a superstitious thing? There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a wee look at who your potential opponents are and what they are like. We all know Willem II, away from home, will be a big challenge and we've said so. I haven't seen a single complacent/dismissive comment.

The most worrying thing here was the timing of these dropped points. Bottle has been a major point of discussion due to the fact that the 3 or 4 times Rangers have gone top of the league in the past couple of seasons, we have dropped points in the very next game and handed the theoretical top spot straight back to Celtic. This was a different situation but pretty much the same, Celtic win yesterday and this was the first time we are in a position where if we don’t win, we cede 1st position to them and, lo and behold, we do. So mentality is a concern again this season. On the actual game, the failure to hold a lead with half an hour left is really not good enough. Walter’s team knew not to risk too much when you are in that position, especially away from home. Those are my biggest concerns. I’m not hugely concerned about the individual performances. Though it is good to see Arfield proving people wrong again. He can play with his back to goal and link up play in tight spaces which some of our attacking midfielders can’t really do. He is still a quality player. It was of course good to see Kent get his first league assist since February 19. Why can’t the manager see how effective he could be on the right? With his pace he could be getting to the byline all the time.

A lot of chatter on that one. I’ve seen people claiming they spoke to his Mrs in Glasgow and it’s a done deal and another claim or two that they’ve received messages from people. Who knows, but it’s starting to look like a goer.

I think we need to be realistic. We will concede goals. As long as we don’t concede any goals against Celtic.

I looked into them and I think he is being a little overly dismissive of them. They went from 10th to 5th last season because they made 5/6 very smart signings that went straight into their starting 11. It wasn’t random. They have added another 3 to their starting lineup this season without losing anyone, but it will still be a very tall order to finish that high again. 2 of their 3 new signings will be injured when we play them which is good news.

0-2 Rangers Kent

I don't know why people always feel the need to say this. Nobody is taking that for granted, there's nothing wrong with having a look at who your potential opponents are.

Even their subs are over the hill. Ryan Babel (33), Ryan Donk (34), Durmaz (31). When will Turkish teams learn?

As Turkish sides often do, Galatasaray have a lot of veterans in their sides. 4 of their front 5 are 30+. Falcao (34, yes that Falcao) Feghouli (30, ex West Ham) Arda Turan (33) Belhanda (30) Kilinc (26) All good players but, in my opinion, nothing to fear. Turan has barely played in 3 seasons. Falcao had an injury ravaged season last season. He hasn't lost his touch and is scoring goals, but he must be a bit off the pace. Feghouli is ageing well by the looks of it and will be a danger.

We also have a match fitness advantage. Willem II and Galatasaray have played 2 competitive matches this season. We have played 8 because we played all the way through August.

Certainly not but this isn't the Galatasaray of old. The hierachy in Turkey has undergone a lot of change in recent years. They aren't spending money either.

Two tough games but the ball is very much in our court. We have got the luck of the draw again this season. As much as we can't be complacent, we should be beating Willem II. We are clear favourites for that game. We got a home tie and dodged Spurs so we are also favourites in the next round. Galatasaray finished 6th last season. Hadjuk split finished 5th last season, 20 points behind first and 2 points behind Osijek.

Not a bad draw

We are at home to Galatasaray/Hadjuk Split

We've got Galatasaray or Hadjuk Split

We're not drawing APOEL unfortunately

Phew. Bullet dodged. Not us.

Spurs vs .....

Ball 6 vs 2 for groups 1-3. Phew, that would have been us vs Spurs if it was for our group.

Sarajevo/Podgorica vs Riga/Celtic At least they are away.

Great preview, thanks. Have to say I am more confident now that Barker is out of the squad and Arfield is in.

Sporting Lisbon are seeded, if Aberdeen beat them they take their place.

Yes we can. I can only embed tweets on my laptop so I decided not to try to spell their opponents on my phone when they almost certainly won’t get through anyway.

Draw will be here https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0260-1038ce015f68-dae5f827f104-1000--uefa-europa-league-play-off-round-draw/?iv=true If we get past Willem II here are our potential opponents, Spurs Galatasaray/Hadjuk Split Standard Liege APOEL That’s a quite a tough grouping. However Standard Liege finished 5th last season and Galatasaray finished 6th, so we will want to avoid Spurs and an away tie.

1 goal, though Ally didn’t get to play against teams like St Joseph’s and Lincoln Red Imps