Champions League First Qualifying Round Preview

This week is the beginning of the 2026/27 European season, as the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round kicks off. The first balls will be kicked in Armenia, Lithuania, Gibraltar, and Azerbaijan at the same time to commence the tournament.

In total, 28 sides are involved in the UCL for the first two weeks of qualification. Should they progress, they take one vital step closer towards the league phase, and will join 10 direct entrants in the second qualifying round. Fall to defeat, and they will drop to the Conference League qualifiers, where they will have to try and survive three rounds to make the league phase.

Here is a look at the this qualifying round, and what to expect.

Debutants Make Their Mark

There are four teams playing in the UCL for the very first time. Two of them - Kauno Žalgiris and Sabah Baku - are among the eight teams to start the competition on Tuesday. Kauno take on Kosovo's Drita, who made it to the knockout stage of the Conference League last term. The Lithuanian side also had their best-ever run in Europe last summer, making it to the third qualifying round of the UECL.

For Sabah, who dethroned Qarabağ in Azerbaijan, they will host a team with plenty of experience in UCL qualification in The New Saints. The Welsh champions are set to kick off their 16th campaign in the qualifiers. Remarkably, this will be the first time The Saints face an Azeri opponent.

Elsewhere, Atert Bissen will make their continental bow versus KÍ Klaksvík, making the trip to the Faroe Islands for the first leg. Bissen won the title in Luxembourg on the final day, beating outgoing champions Differdange 03 in a direct clash. Their challenge will come against a side in the middle of their domestic campaign, currently second in the Faroe Islands Premier League. KÍ have successfully negotiated this stage in three of their last four attempts.

The other debut entry in this season's UCL are ML Vitebsk, who like Bissen, are playing their first European tie. Their challenge is even bigger, facing Romanian champions CS Universitatea Craiova. While CSU Craiova have never played in the Champions League under its current guise, they did make the quarterfinals of the European Cup back in 1981/82.

Tie of the Round: Flora Tallinn vs Iberia 1999

For the tie of this opening round, Flora Tallinn and Iberia 1999 square off in what is a huge clash - not only for the two clubs involved, but for their countries.

Given that both Estonia and Georgia will start the season in the bottom five of UEFA's five-year country coefficient ranking, going through is a must. Not only does success guarantee at least six more games in Europe, it also increases the likelihood of playing league phase football in the fall.

Looking At the UEFA Coefficient Battles For the 2026/27 Season

Both teams are also in the middle of their domestic season, with Flora currently second in Estonia, and Iberia holding onto top spot in Georgia.

Flora's only other meeting with Georgian opposition came in the 2011/12 season, where they lost 2-0 on aggregate to Dinamo Tbilisi in the Europa League first qualifying round. Their fortunes have changed since then, however. They made the UEL playoff round in 2020/21 before getting to the UECL group stage a year later.

As for Iberia, formerly known as Saburtalo Tbilisi, this is their third appearance in the UCL. They pulled off a stunt in their first-ever tie, beating Sheriff Tiraspol in 2019/20. This tie marks their second against an Estonian side, with Flora's rivals FCI Levadia Tallinn knocking them out of Europe last term in extra time of their UECL qualifier.

Recent Group Phase Sides Look for Strong Start

There are several teams in this round who have reached the group stage or league phase in Europe before. That includes Gibraltar's record champions Lincoln Red Imps, who have twice reached the UECL proper. Their test comes in the form of Inter Club d'Escaldes, winners of five of the last seven Andorran titles. Inter are looking to become the first side from their country to ever make a group phase.

Tre Fiori and Sutjeska are in the same boat, as their countries - San Marino and Montenegro respectively - have never graced a group phase before. Like Inter, they have opponents who recently got as far as the league phase. Tre Fiori face Larne, who participated in the UECL back in 2024/25, while Sutjeska have an even more arduous task in taking on Kairat. The side from Kazakhstan made it to the Champions League proper last fall, getting through all four rounds of qualification. They will, however, have a tough task to repeat the impressive feat.

Shamrock Rovers have played in the main rounds of the UECL thrice within the last four years, making them a regular feature at that stage. The League of Ireland club are up against Floriana, who will look to match Ħamrun Spartans' performance last season. Shamrock did defeat Ħamrun in their final match in the Conference League last fall.

KuPS and Víkingur Reykjavík have also been in the knockout rounds of the UECL, something they will look to achieve again. The former are up against Vardar Skopje, while the latter have Hungarian side Győri ETO, who ended Ferencváros' run.

Only two of the UCL Q1 ties feature a pair of sides who have gotten through qualifying before. Vardar and KuPS is one, while the other is between Borac Banja Luka and Levski Sofia. In fact, this is the only tie where both sides have gotten as far as the knockout rounds, as Borac participated in the last 16 of the 2024/25 Conference League, while Levski got to the last eight of the UEFA Cup 21 years ago.

Petrocub will be aiming to get back to the league phase, something they did two years ago in their other appearance in UCL qualification. Standing in their way are Egnatia, who have failed to come out on top in five of their six continental ties before this. However, they have never been beaten in both legs of the same tie.

The only tie in this season's UCL first qualifying round where neither side have made a group phase before is the one between Ararat-Armenia and Riga FC. Twice have the Armenian champions fallen at the last hurdle, as they also await their first progression from a Champions League tie. Riga, sitting top in Latvia, are 0-3-2 in their five previous games in the competition. They have reached the final round of qualifying on three occasions before this, including last term, but never farther.