Rangers will look to build on their recent success as they prepare to face Jablonec in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off at Ibrox Stadium on Thursday, August 20, 2026. After securing a 5-1 victory over St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup, Rangers are eager to continue their momentum under manager Derek McInnes.

This match is particularly important for Rangers, who dropped to the third tier of UEFA competition after a disappointing exit from the Europa League. They suffered a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok in the third qualifying round, which has heightened the stakes for this upcoming clash against Czech side Jablonec.

Rangers have never faced Jablonec before, but their Scottish rivals, Celtic, previously played against them in a Europa League qualifier five years ago, winning convincingly with a 7-2 aggregate score. While Rangers are looking to regain their footing in European football, Jablonec comes into the match with confidence, having won all three of their domestic league matches and successfully advancing through the second round of Conference League qualifying by eliminating Croatian side Varazdin and Latvian outfit RFS.

The match will kick off at 7:45 PM local time, but it will not be broadcast live on UK television. However, fans can watch the game via pay-per-view on Rangers TV, with a match pass available for £10.99 or a two-match bundle for £16.99.

In terms of team news, Rangers will welcome new signings James Penrice and Kosta Nedeljković to their European squad, although they will be without injured players Youssef Chermiti, Tuur Rommens, and Ben Godfrey. The match will be officiated by Romanian referee Marian Barbu, with Cătălin Popa serving as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

As the teams prepare for this pivotal encounter, Rangers fans will be hoping for a strong performance to secure a favorable result ahead of the second leg.