Rangers vs PSV facts

For the second season in a row, Rangers and PSV Eindhoven meet in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, the Scottish side looking for a repeat of their 2022/23 success as they bid to reach the group stage for a second consecutive season.

Rangers edged through 3-2 on aggregate last season to earn a first group appearance in 12 years; PSV, meanwhile, have not featured since 2018/19.

This is the only tie in the 2023/24 play-off round in which the teams have previously met.

Previous meetings

This is the sides' ninth contest with Rangers holding the upper hand having lost just one of the previous eight, including their aggregate victory in last season's play-off round.

The first leg at Ibrox finished 2-2, Ibrahim Sangaré giving visitors PSV a 37th-minute lead only for Antonio Čolak to level within three minutes. Tom Lawrence turned the game in Rangers' favour in the 70th minute but this time it was PSV's turn to respond, Armando Obispo equalising for Ruud van Nistelrooy's team 12 minutes from time.

It was Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers who took the spoils in Eindhoven, however, Čolak scoring the only goal of the game on the hour to send the Scottish side into the group stage for the first time since 2010.

PSV had recorded their only victory against Rangers in the previous game between the sides, Jeremain Lens scoring the only goal of the clubs' 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie 14 minutes into the second leg in Glasgow.

Rangers' Steven Davis played in both matches.

Rangers have won four of their six European Cup games against PSV, prevailing 3-2 in Eindhoven in the 1978/79 second round second leg to win the tie by the same scoreline before wins away (1-0) and at home (4-1) in the 1999/2000 Champions League first group stage.

Form guide

Rangers

Rangers have made 11 appearances in the Champions League group stage and returned last season to feature for the first time since 2010/11 when, as in eight of their nine other campaigns, they were unable to reach the knockout rounds – the exception coming in 2005/06 when they got to the round of 16.

Last season proved a chastening experience for the Gers as they finished bottom of Group A having lost all six games, including twice to PSV's domestic rivals Ajax (0-4 a, 1-3 h) and a 7-1 loss to Liverpool that represented the Glasgow club's biggest home defeat in UEFA competition.

Rangers scored only twice in last season's group stage, conceding 22 goals.

Runners-up in the Scottish Premiership to Celtic in 2021/22, last season's tie with PSV was Rangers' first Champions League play-off; their record at this stage of the Europa League is W4 L1 with victories in the last four.

Before losing all three games in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, Rangers were unbeaten in eight home European matches (W6 D2).

Michael Beale's team edged out Swiss side Servette in this season's third qualifying round (2-1 h, 1-1 a), James Tavernier scoring in both legs.

Last season's defeats by Ajax made Rangers' record against Dutch clubs W8 D6 L9; at home it is W2 D4 L4.

PSV

The most recent of PSV's 16 Champions League group campaigns came in 2018/19, when they finished fourth in their section having collected only two points from six games.

The Eindhoven club have lost three times in qualifying since then, including play-off defeats at the hands of Benfica in 2021/22 (1-2 a, 0-0 h) and Rangers last season.

The loss to Rangers in 2022/23 made PSV's record in Champions League play-offs W1 L3. They were also beaten by AC Milan in 2013/14 (1-1 h, 0-3 a), the sole victory coming against BATE Borisov of Belarus in 2018/19 (3-2 a, 3-0 h).

The Eindhoven club were second behind Arsenal in Europa League Group A in 2022/23 having transferred across from the Champions League, winning four of their six games, but eventual champions Sevilla ended their run in the knockout round play-offs despite a second-leg fightback in the Netherlands (0-3 a, 2-0 h).

PSV have lost only two of their last ten European away games, winning four.

Home and away, the Dutch club have won five of their last six games in UEFA competition (L1) including the last three.

Second in the Eredivisie for the third season in a row in 2022/23, finishing runners-up to Feyenoord after two campaigns behind Ajax, PSV kicked off this European campaign in the Champions League third qualifying round, sweeping past Sturm Graz (4-1 h, 3-1 a) with Luuk de Jong scoring three goals in the tie.

Aside from their eight games with Rangers, PSV's only other fixtures against a Scottish club ended in an aggregate defeat by Dundee United in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup first round (1-1 a, 0-2 h).

Links and trivia

PSV forward Malik Tillman spent last season on loan at Rangers from Bayern München. He provided the assist for Čolak to score the only goal of Rangers' 1-0 win in Eindhoven in the play-off second leg.

Tillman scored 12 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions in Glasgow.

Cyriel Dessers and Guus Til were in the Feyenoord team that reached the final of the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

Rangers' summer signing Sam Lammers joined PSV in 2010 aged 13, going on to score 30 goals in 63 appearances for the club's second team and six in 29 matches for the senior side between 2016 and 2021.

Lammers was an unused substitute as Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers on penalties in the 2022 Europa League final in Seville.

Has played in the Netherlands:
Danilo Pereira (Ajax 2017–22, Twente 2020/21 loan, Feyenoord 2022/23)

Danilo scored Feyenoord's second goal in a 4-3 Eredivisie defeat at PSV on 18 September 2022. His penalty had earned Twente a 1-1 draw at home to the Eindhoven club on 22 November 2020.

Rangers' Nicolas Raskin and PSV pair Yorbe Vertessen and Johan Bakayoko have played together for Belgium's Under-21 side.

PSV coach Peter Bosz, who replaced Van Nistelrooy in the summer, was coach of the Lyon side that faced Rangers in the 2020/21 Europa League. The Ligue 1 side won 2-0 in Glasgow before a 1-1 draw in France.

Bosz also oversaw Bayer Leverkusen's 3-1 victory at Ibrox in the 2019/20 Europa League round of 16 first leg; the German side also won the home second leg 1-0.