All five of Scotland's European representatives are still standing as we prepare for the second legs of the play-off rounds, but only Celtic are guaranteed UEFA league phase action.

They have the cushion of Europa League football if they throw away their commanding lead against LASK in their Champions League tie, but there is no such comfort for Hearts, Rangers, Hibs and Motherwell.

The Jambos have already failed in their bid to qualify for Europe's top two club competitions, and need to win away to Rapid Vienna to secure a place in the Conference League.

Rangers are in the same situation, having crashed out of Europa League qualifying, meaning a place in the third-tier competition is their only chance.

Both Hibs and Motherwell have already come through two Conference League qualifying rounds. The Easter Road side are in a far better position than the Steelmen ahead of this week's games...

Will Celtic secure Champions League return?

Just 12 months ago, Celtic failed to score in 210 minutes against Kairat Almaty before crashing out at the play-off stage on penalties.

What followed was a season of turmoil before Martin O'Neill returned to win a league and cup double. Now he has the Hoops on the brink of a return to Europe's elite competition.

The Champions League is all about big players producing big moments. Benjamin Nygren and Camilo Duran served up goals of the highest quality at a packed Parkhead to give them a commanding 3-0 first-leg win against LASK.

Duran scored five goals in the competition last season for Qarabag, and he is already proving he was worth the £6m fee.

The Colombian striker has pace and skill, and looked at home on the big stage. Fellow summer signings Mika Baur and Kasper Hogh also shone, with early suggestions this might be the summer the Hoops got their signings right.

Let's not forget Nygren, Celtic's top scorer last season. He opened the scoring, taking his tally for the season to four goals in four games.

O'Neill did urge some caution ahead of Tuesday night's game, with LASK showing enough to suggest it is not done yet.

If Celtic impress in attack again while avoiding any defensive lapses, the famous Champions League anthem will be back in Glasgow until after Christmas.

Can Hearts take another step towards becoming European regulars?

Tony Bloom has made no secret of his high hopes for Hearts.

The minority shareholder has already managed to split the Old Firm, and he has the Champions League in his sights.

Firstly, they have to qualify for the league phase of European tournaments regularly, and the Conference League is in their sights.

Having failed to get past Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying and Benfica in the Europa, they can still secure a place in the third-tier competition.

The Jambos take a 2-2 draw to Austria for the second leg of their play-off against Rapid Vienna on Wednesday night. To get through, they need to find their balance between attack and defence.

They have conceded 15 goals in European competition this season while scoring just four times.

The reward for that will be participation in the main phase of the Conference League for the third time in five seasons and, with it, a financial boost of at least £4m.

Can Rangers take last European chance?

Rangers manager Derek McInnes admitted his side will need to "be better" after their narrow 1-0 win against Jablonec in the first leg of their play-off.

Failure to reach the Europa League means the best the Ibrox side can achieve in Europe this season is the Conference League, a competition they have never played in before.

The boos rang out after a frustrating first half at Ibrox, but they did turn to cheers with Ryan Naderi's goal giving them hope heading into the second leg in the Czech Republic.

They did not make it easy for themselves, especially after Cammy Devlin's straight red card minutes after coming on, but the visitors never really troubled them.

Rangers dominated possession and had 13 shots on target compared to the opposition's five.

The fans will be hoping their failure to take chances does not cost them in the return leg as they aim to secure a ninth straight season competing on the European stage.

Historic season for Hibs?

Hibernian are on the brink of club history - a first European league phase qualification.

A goalless draw away to Gent in the first leg of their Conference League tie has left them on the brink of securing a place in the league phase of the competition.

After beating KF Malisheva, and then seeing off North Macedonian outfit Shkendija over two legs, David Gray's side face the final hurdle of qualifying for the second straight season. Last season, they lost out to Legia Warsaw after extra time.

Hibs dealt well with the pressure in the away leg against Gent but were left to rue Owen Elding's first-half penalty miss.

The Belgian side, who have started their Pro League season with back-to-back wins, failed to pose any great threat to the Hibees, who will return to Leith believing this is their season.

Too late for Motherwell?

When Regan Charles-Cook fired Motherwell ahead just two minutes into their tie against Freiburg, the Fir Park faithful probably started to dream of their first appearance in the group stage of European competition.

They caught the Germans out. However, when their opponents finally found their feet, they showed their own version of the attractive, free-flowing football the 'Well fans have become accustomed to under boss Alfred Johansson and his predecessor Jens Berthel Askou.

Having reached last year's Europa League final, Freiburg spent a reported £30m in the close season and are one of those backed to go far in the competition.

They kept Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen busy. He impressed, but they still fell to a 3-1 defeat.

Freiburg were certainly worthy winners in Lanarkshire and will be overwhelming favourites to complete the job at the Europa-Park Stadion on Thursday.