Scottish football in coefficient recovery mode as playoff schedules packed with top ten threats and opportunities
There's work to do, but Scottish football is at least in coefficient recovery mode after recent European results.
Dropping out of the top ten saw us lose an automatic Champions League league phase spot this year, meaning champions Celtic face a gruelling trip to Kazakhstan to face Kairat Almaty to bank a £40million jackpot and another crack at reaching the knockout stage this year.
Despite their domestic woes, Rangers could join them after battling through to the playoff round thanks to aggregate wins over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen respectively.
Club Brugge stand between Russell Martin and the European elite and if the pre-season friendly between the two was anything to go by, then it's set to be a major test over 180 minutes.
Hibs made their fans sweat but they eventually saw off FK Partizan on a dramatic night at Easter Road to set up a Conference League final hurdle clash with Legia Warsaw.
Aberdeen enter the Europa League at the same stage and face FCSB, knowing they have the Conference League safety net should they fall short over two legs.
Dundee Utd gave it a hell of a go but were edged out by Rapid Vienna on penalties.
Looking at the bigger picture, we could do with racking up the wins to get closer to the top ten.
The Czechs are the team to catch on 38.900 and Rangers looked like they'd made a dent with that 3-0 first leg win over Plzen, although we could have done without the 2-1 second leg defeat cancelling out the point made up on the Czechs initially.
Standing between us and them are Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Norway and Greece.
Rangers dumping Panathinaikos was a big boost, while next opponents Brugge beating RB Salzburg home and away helped too.
Utd's two draws evened things out over their two legs, while Hibs can strike a blow with a couple of wins over Legia.
Looking at the other Champions League playoff fixtures, a Copenhagen win over Basel would be ideal, while Norway or Austria will lose a CL rep when Bodo/Glimt play Sturm Graz.
The Europa League playoff sees more of our coefficient rivals in the mix.
Lech Poznan take on Genk while Panathinaikos are paired with Samsunspor.
Malmo hosts Sigma Olomuc and PAOK have two legs against Croat champions Rijeka to overcome.
AEK Larnaca can do us a favour against Brann while Young Boys take on Slovan Bratislava, who were denied a showdown with Celtic.
The Conference League playoff is packed with clubs we could do with being dumped out.
Crystal Palace should take care of Fredrikstad while Rosenborg have a tough tie against Mainz. Servette beating Shakhtar Donetsk would be a shock, as would Lausanne beating Besiktas.
AEK Athens have a tough one against Anderlecht while Brondby play Strasbourg.
Rapid Vienna, Jagiellonia Bialystock, Sparta Prague and Rakow Czestochowa are all favourites in their respective ties however.
Our clubs can only control their own results, although two flying the flag in the Champions League would be a big help to getting us back to where we belong.
Champions League playoff draw
Crvena Zvezda vs Pafos
Rangers vs Club Brugge
Ferencvaros vs Qarabag
Celtic vs Kairat
Basel vs Copenhagen
Bodo/Glimt vs Sturm Graz
Fenerbahce vs Benfica
Europa League playoff draw
Lech Poznan vs Genk
Panathinaikos vs Samsunspor
Shkendija vs Ludogrets
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Dynamo Kyiv
Malmo vs Sigma
Zrinjski vs Utrecht
Rijeka vs PAOK Lincoln Red Imps vs Braga
Midtjylland vs KuPS
Aberdeen vs FCSB
Brann vs AEK Larnaca
Slovan Bratislava vs Young Boys
Conference League playoff draw
Breidablik vs Virtus
Rosenborg bs Mainz
Jagiellonia Bialystock vs Dinamo Tirana
Celje vs Banik
Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad
Santa Clara vs Shamrock Rovers
Basaksehir vs Universitatea Craiova
Gyor vs Rapid Vienna
Sparta Prague vs Riga
Levski Sofia vs Alkmaar
Neman vs Rayo Vallecano
Hamrun vs RFS
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Servette
Lausanne vs Besiktas
Olimpija vs Noah
Anderlecht vs AEK Athens
Wolfsberg vs Omonia
Hibs vs Legia Warsaw
Polissya Zhytomyr vs Fiorentina
Drita vs Differdange
Strasbourg vs Brondby
Shelbourne vs Linfield
Rakow Czestochowa vs Arda
Hacken vs Cluj
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