Blackpool to host major pre-season friendly against Rangers at Bloomfield Road

Michael Appleton’s side welcome the Europa League finalists to Bloomfield Road on Saturday, July 16 (3pm kick-off).

The Seasiders were initially due to take on Rangers last season but the game had to be scrapped following a Covid-19 outbreak among Neil Critchley’s squad.

The Glasgow outfit had sold 4,500 tickets for the encounter, which was due to be the first meeting between the two sides since 2011.

Rangers finished second in the SPL last season, four points behind fierce rivals Celtic.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were also beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final, but did beat Hearts 2-0 in the Scottish Cup final.

This is the third of the club’s pre-season friendlies to have been announced so far, with trips to Southport and Salford City already pencilled in.

A further friendly against another major club is also to be announced imminently.

The games will provide useful preparation for the start of the Championship campaign, which gets underway on Saturday, July 30.

That’s a week earlier than normal, the calendar altering a little this season due to the winter World Cup in Qatar.

The Championship will break from November 12 until December 10, a period that covers the group stages and the opening round of knockout fixtures.

League fixtures are to be released at 9am on Thursday morning, with the draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup taking place later that same day.

Pre-season schedule so far:

Saturday, July 2 - Southport (A)

Saturday, July 16 - Rangers (H)

Tuesday, July 19 - Salford City (A)