Old Firm will be seeded

RANGERS and Celtic are set to be seeded in the final qualifying round of next season’s Champions League

As Scottish champions, Rangers go straight into the third round draw, on July 29.

If runners-up Celtic overcome their second round opponents, both Old Firm rivals would be seeded in the third round draw, meaning they would avoid being paired with the likes of Manchester United, Inter Milan, Ajax and Monaco. Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon, Werder Bremen, Villarreal, Rosenborg, Slavia Prague and Club Brugge are also confirmed seeds.

But a Battle of Britain is a possibility as Everton will not be seeded.

Other potential barriers to a place in the lucrative group phase are Real Betis, FC Basel, Wisla Krakow and Udinese.

Shakhtar Donetsk, Hajduk Split, Partizan Belgrade, Maccabi Haifa, Rapid Vienna, Valerenga, CSKA Sofia, Debrecen, Trabzonspor and the champions of Denmark or Romania are all potential opposition should they advance past the second round.