Conference League Playoff Round Preview

The most thrilling part of the UEFA Conference League is here. After three rounds of qualification, the playoff round will occur over the next two Thursdays, with one deciding match being on the Wednesday. The final 24 places in a league phase is on the line for the 48 clubs involved.

Here is a look at the ties to occur in this UECL playoff stage.

Top League Clubs Enter the Group

Five teams qualify directly for the playoff round, with last season's UEFA Europa League finalists SC Freiburg the headline act. Their first-ever European match outside of the UEL/UEFA Cup comes against Motherwell. The Scottish outfit will look for a better result than their other tie against German opposition 32 years ago in the UEFA Cup. On that occasion, they lost 3-0 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund.

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Brighton will begin their second-ever continental campaign versus Norwegian side Tromsø. The Seagulls won five of their eight games in the UEL three years ago before being ousted in the last 16 against Roma. They face a Tromsø team who have lost three of four versus English opposition before this tie. Their only win, however, did come in a two-legged tie.

Italy's UECL representatives this term are Atalanta, who are up versus Hapoel Tel Aviv in their tie. La Dea won both of their previous games against teams from Israel. However, they will be weary in this tie: their only other playoff round tie ended in defeat on penalties. All of Hapoel's four previous matches against Italian sides came in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup, where they got past Parma in the last 16 before AC Milan ended their run a round later. Back in Europe after a 12-year wait, they are aiming for a seventh group phase appearance.

AS Monaco are up against Górnik Zabrze in their playoff round clash. Les Monegasques are unbeaten against Polish clubs (5-3-0), though they will still want to be careful in this tie. After all, they have failed to progress from their last two playoff round showings in European play. Górnik are in danger of a triple elimination after failing to move on from their Champions League and Europa League ties. A maiden group phase appearance is on the line for Trójkolorowi.

As for Spain, their club competing in the competition this term are Getafe, who meet Partizan Belgrade. Of the direct entrants, Azulones have it the toughest. They have successfully negotiated both of their previous ties at this stage in Europe, reaching the round of 16 of the 2019/20 Europa League in their latest continental run. Partizan are looking to end a run of three straight eliminations in the UECL qualifiers - two coming at the final hurdle.

Tie of the Round: Panathinakos vs Hradec Králové

In what is easily one of the most consequential ties of the season from a UEFA coefficient standpoint, Panathinaikos take on Hradec Králové. For both Greece and Czechia, this tie could be the difference between a full complement of league phase teams, and one (or even two) missing out.

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Overall, Panathinaikos have a strong 9-6-3 record against Czech opponents, though one of those defeats came at the hands of Hradec in what was their first-ever European game back in 1960. This will be Prássinoi's second UECL meeting with a Czech team, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Slavia Praha four years ago. With that said, they did get past the playoff round the year after by beating RC Lens.

Czechia have the most unique participants in the Conference League group stage/league phase with seven. Should Hradec find a way past Pana, they will be their country's eighth different team in the main rounds. Both of the club's previous European journeys saw them reach the quarter-finals, doing so in the European Cup and Cup Winners Cup.

Domestic Champions Get Last Chance

The headline clash in the domestic champions path see Lincoln Red Imps aim for revenge as they face Larne. This is a repeat clash from two years, when the Northern Irish outfit overturned a first leg deficit to become their nation's first participants in a major UEFA club competition group phase. The Invermen's second leg victory at home remains their only win in four versus Gibraltarian teams (1-1-2).

Another rematch will see Drita take on Inter Club d'Escaldes. The pair squared off in the UCL preliminary round in 2020/21, with the club from Kosovo coming out on top 2-1 in the one-off match. While Drita are 2-0-0 against Andorran teams, this will be their first two-legged tie against such an opponent. Inter, meanwhile, are on the cusp of history. Only once before this had a side from the microstate gone this far in Europe, meaning that qualification to the league phase would be a first.

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Riga FC are the only other team in the champions path looking for a maiden group phase showing, as they face KÍ Klaksvík. The Faroese side have been eliminated by Latvian opposition twice in Europe, including in their debut campaign. Having made the Conference League proper in 2023/24, they narrowly missed out in each of the last two years. As for Riga, they will be hoping that fourth time is the charm, as they have made it this far on three previous occasions only to lose each time.

Víkingur Reykjavík and Borac Banja Luka will also meet again two years after the Icelandic club came out on top 2-0 during the league phase. For Shamrock Rovers, they are up versus KuPS Kuopio as the League of Ireland team aim to beat a Finnish team during normal time for the first time. KuPS became Finland's second different team to make a group phase, qualifying for the knockout playoffs in their debut run.

European Regulars With Tricky Ties

Several of the continent's elite involved in this season's Conference League will have to be in it tough over the next two weeks. Sporting Braga, for instance, will have to navigate a tricky clash with Austria Wien. It will be the second time in three years that Braga have an Austrian team to face in this round, having eliminated Rapid Wien in the Europa League. FAK have been knocked out in UECL qualifying in each of the last three seasons.

Speaking of Rapid Wien, their task will be against a Hearts side desperate to avoid a triple elimination. This will be the sixth time Rapid have a two-legged tie versus a Scottish club, having won the last three. That includes last season's success over Dundee United on penalties. For Hearts, they were already ousted by an Austrian outfit earlier this summer in the UCL, with Sturm Graz winning 6-0 on aggregate.

Rangers face Jablonec in their tie, which could present a difficult time for the Gers. Overall, Rangers are 6-2-6 versus Czech clubs, though they did knock one out in the UCL qualifiers a year ago. Jablonec suffered their heaviest defeat in a European tie against Scottish opposition, losing 7-2 over two legs to Celtic in the Europa League back in 2021/22.

Two-time quarterfinalists PAOK Thessaloniki are up against Norwegian side SK Brann. PAOK can count on a decent record versus teams from the Nordic country, winning four of seven (4-1-2). The two clubs drew 1-1 against each other in the UEL last term.

Twente and Qarabağ square off in what promises to be another cracking tie. This is already the third time the two have been drawn together, with both coming out on top once each. However, the Azeri team have never won against Twente (0-3-1), winning on away goals in their most recent meeting 12 years ago. Since that second meeting, Qarabağ have yet to fall in the qualifiers.

Opportunities Arise for Many

Ajax will be the overwhelming favourite versus Sion, who last played group phase football 11 years ago. The latter are one of three Swiss teams involved in this round. Sankt Gallen are paired with FC Nordsjælland, with Espen looking to beat a Danish side for the second time. Lugano also have a difficult tie ahead of them when they meet Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Israeli team have yet to come out on top against a Swiss team in eight attempts (0-5-3).

Conference League regulars Gent could make the league phase for a record-setting fifth time should they get past Hibernian. De Buffalos are unbeaten in their last 12 UECL qualifiers (8-4-0) as they successfully negotiated this part of the competition on three occasions before. For Hibs, they are back in the competition's qualifying stages for the fourth time, but have fallen at the last hurdle in their last two attempts. They are aiming for a maiden league phase appearance.

Along with Nordsjælland, Denmark will also have two other representatives. FC Midtjylland face a challenging opponent in Rijeka, who had knocked out FC København in the Europa League six years ago. Speaking of the side from the Danish capital, their opponent will be Finland's Inter Turku - one of two teams to get to the UECL playoffs from the first qualifying round.

Hajduk Split are out to end their 16-year wait for group phase football again. In their way are Raków Częstochowa, who made the last 16 of the UECL in 2025/26. The Croats made it this far just once before, losing both legs against Villarreal three years ago.

The tie between Pafos and Dinamo Tirana could be a fascinating one. Having fallen to RB Salzburg in the Europa League last round, Pafos are trying to make it back to the UECL proper for the second time in three years. For the second year running, Dinamo are in this round having started from the opening qualifying round. They are 5-2-1 in their last eight home games as they look to be Albania's third-ever different group phase representatives.