Rangers in Champions League qualifying: PSV Eindhoven will carry old and new threats

Champions League play-off: Rangers v PSV Eindhoven
Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Date: Tuesday, 22 August Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland Extra/DAB/810MW, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

"Time for revenge," roared PSV Eindhoven on social media in the immediate aftermath of their thrashing of the Austrian league's runners-up Sturm Graz.

The three-word post was designed to demonstrate PSV's intent when they go head-to-head over the next eight days with Rangers for a place in the Champions League group stage for the second time in a year.

Antonio Colak was the hero for Rangers in the Netherlands last season as the Scottish side ended a 12-year hiatus in Europe's premier club competition.

In a replica of that 3-2 aggregate triumph, the first leg is at Ibrox with the return on the road. PSV were undoubtedly favourites going into that decisive game in 2022, but the odds were upset at the end of a fairly even match.

It was only 12 months ago, so while the fixture is the same, much has changed at both clubs. Including in the respective technical areas.

Same tie, new managers

Last term, Giovanni van Bronckhorst prevailed over his old international team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy. Both would exit their roles before the season was finished for entirely different reasons.

While Van Bronckhorst was ejected from his post in November after a Champions League campaign so bad it broke records, Van Nistelrooy exited on his own terms after helping PSV defend the Dutch Cup on penalties against Ajax, citing a lack of support within the club. There were also reports of dressing-room unrest.

Unfortunately for Rangers, Van Nistelrooy's successor knows how to win games at Ibrox.

Vastly experienced Dutchman Peter Bosz was in charge of Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon when they won recent Europa League games in Glasgow, although he wouldn't last much longer at either club as they dropped down their respective leagues.

The 59-year-old has got PSV buzzing at the start of the season as they try to wrestle the title away from Feyenoord. It will have been six years since their last Eredivisie win by the time this season ends.

Malik Tillman of PSV slides in to control the ball — Malik Tillman will be a familiar face at Ibrox on Tuesday

As well as their destruction of Sturm Graz in the last round of qualifying, they have also won two from two in the league against Utrecht and Vitesse as well as lifting the Johan Cruyff Shield against the champions on their own patch in Rotterdam.

Bosz's side have scored 13 goals in the process.

They have also spent some big money during the summer transfer window, including breaking their own record transfer fee by signing Netherlands winger Noa Lang from Bruges for about 15m euros (£12.8m).

Lang scored the winner in the Shield and also netted their first league goal of the season on the opening day. He is an injury doubt for the first leg but has travelled to Glasgow.

Jerdy Schouten, another Netherlands player, has arrived from Italy, where he teamed up with Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson in the Bologna engine room last season.

United States players Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest have signed from Augsburg and Barcelona respectively, the latter on loan with a purchase option on the eve of the first leg.

New dangers and familiar threats

Last season's PFA Scotland young player of the year Malik Tillman also returns to Ibrox, but not in the way Rangers fans had hoped.

Tillman set up Colak for the only goal in Eindhoven last season, but he will be in PSV colours this time around having joined on loan from Bayern Munich for a seven-figure fee.

While there are new dangers for Rangers to consider, old threats also remain.

Luuk de Jong leads the line and is ably supported by the likes of Joey Veerman, Johan Bakayoko and Ibrahim Sangare, who opened the scoring at Ibrox in last season's thrilling first leg.

It is also worth mentioning youngster Isaac Babadi, the 18-year-old attacking midfielder in whom Bosz has placed a lot of faith during these early weeks of the season.

Despite being shorn of Cody Gakpo, who starred against Rangers last season before leaving for Liverpool in a multi-million pound deal, PSV are probably stronger this time around than they were in 2022, meaning this is about as tough a match-up as Michael Beale's side could have faced at this stage of qualifying.

The 1988 European Cup winners are unbeaten in 22 competitive matches and before next week's return in Eindhoven, have only lost once at home since Rangers beat them in Phillips Stadion.

In summary, this is an extremely dangerous tie for Beale and his side.

Rangers will hope PSV are so consumed in their quest for revenge that they can repeat last season's trick.