Rangers will discover their Europa League group stage fate today as the draw for the competition is made.

UEFA will conduct the draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco at lunchtime.

Michael Beale's side dropped into the tournament having failed to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. The Ibrox club were comfortably beaten by PSV on Wednesday night. The Dutch outfit secured a 5-1 victory on the night, 7-3 on aggregate.

The result meant that PSV progressed to UEFA's elite club competition, while Rangers dropped down to the Europa League.

Rangers reached the final of the tournament just two seasons ago, where they cruelly lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville. 

This season, the Europa League final will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. While that is a long way off for Rangers for now, given their previous success in the competition, it's got to be the long-term aim of the club.

Here are the best and worst case group stage scenarios for Rangers analysed.

Europa League Pots

Pot 1: West Ham, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Rangers.

Pot 2: Sporting CP, Slavia Prague, Rennes, Olympiakos, Real Betis, LASK, Marseille, Qarabag.

Pot 3: Molde, Brighton, FC Sheriff, Union Saint-Gilloise, Freiburg, Sparta Prague, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm Graz.

Pot 4: Toulouse, AEK Athens, Backa Topola, Servette, Panathinaikos, Rakow Czestochowa, Aris Limassol, BK Hacken.

Best case scenario for Rangers

Rangers were handed a major boost ahead of Friday's Europa League draw. UEFA allocates the 32 qualified teams into four pots, which are then used to compose eight groups based on the association's club coefficient system.

And a shock result helped to raise Rangers' chances of qualifying for the knockout stage by placing them in Pot 1 rather than Pot 2.

Sparta Prague were 3-1 down to Dinamo Zagreb heading into tonight's second-leg in the Czech Republic, but have staged an incredible comeback in beating the Croatians 3-0 to book their place in the group stage.

So, looking at the weakest teams on paper, here is the ideal draw that should see Rangers win their group and skip the to the last-16 knockout stage.

Pot 1 Rangers

Pot 2 LASK

Pot 3 Sturm Graz

Pot 4 BK Hacken

Worst case scenario for Rangers

On the flip side, this is where Rangers will be very glad they avoided having to face any of the Pot 1 sides.

Rangers are among the likes of Liverpool, Ajax, Villarreal, and Bayer Leverkusen in their section of the draw. But that doesn't mean they will avoid some tricky ties entirely. There are plenty of good sides in the competition.

READ MORE: Europa League group stage draw: Start time, TV & live stream

Looking at Pot 2, there are several teams who would provide a stern test to Beale's men. Real Betis, Sporting CP, and Slavia Prague all look like difficult opponents. Marseille have some very good quality within their ranks, though.

Brighton are undoubtedly the best team in the third pot of the draw, with Roberto De Zerbi rightly praised for his style of play and for the recruiting of players at his disposal.

There are a few tricky-looking teams in Pot 4, who could all pose a threat to Rangers, particularly on their own patch.

Pot 1 Rangers

Pot 2 Marseille

Pot 3 Brighton

Pot 4 Panathinaikos