Conference League Second Qualifying Round Preview

UEFA Conference League football enters the second qualifying round, which is the busiest of the summer. In total, 98 sides will suit up in Europe's third tier club competition at this stage, with many of them commencing their journey here.

Twenty-four of the UECL's 36 league phase spots come from the qualifying round - 19 in the champions path and five in the main path - and the road to be in the final draw of the summer is a difficult one. A mix of Europe's most established clubs and some lesser known sides make this round in particular quite fascinating.

Here is a preview of the Conference League second qualifying round.

Big Names Highlight Round

Several former European winners are part of this round after having disappointing campaigns for their lofty standards. None are bigger than four-time European Cup champions Ajax, who will meet Vojvodina of Serbia. It is the second time the clubs have been paired together, with the Dutch giants winning 4-1 on aggregate in the Europa League two summers ago.

Semifinalists in the UEL last spring, Sporting Braga are among the surprise entrants. The Portuguese are up against another Serbian club in Železničar Pančevo, who are making their European debut. Austrian duo Rapid Wien and Austria Wien are no strangers to this stage either. The former face FC Santa Coloma, while the latter take on Liepāja, two of the winning teams from the first qualifying round.

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Elsewhere, FC København are back in the UECL as they battle Ukraine's Polissia Zhytomyr. Conference League regulars Gent, who have successfully negotiated the qualifying stage in each of their previous three attempts, will also take on a Ukrainian side, facing LNZ Cherkasy.

Former European Cup finalists Panathaikos and Partizan Belgrade have ties against Paksi and UNA Strassen, respectively. The pair will be overwhelming favourites, with the Serbians looking to reach the group phase of a UEFA club competition for the first time since 2022/23.

Ludogorets saw their 14-year dominance of Bulgarian football come to an end last term, meaning they make their debut in Conference League qualification. Their opponent are Hapoel Tel Aviv, who are making their return to continental action after a 12-year wait.

Tie of the Round: Spartak Trnava vs CSKA 1948 Sofia

The choice for the tie of the round comes in the form of an important clash in the UEFA coefficient rankings, as Spartak Trnava and CSKA 1948 Sofia square off.

Slovakia's Trnava made the group stage of the Conference League three years ago, but have been knocked out in the third qualifying round in both seasons since. During that aforementioned group stage showing, they lost both matches against Ludogorets. They have lost four of their six games versus Bulgarian sides, winning the other two.

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CSKA 1948 are coming off their best-ever season, finishing second in the league behind Levski Sofia. Formed a decade ago as a phoenix club, this will mark their third campaign participating in Europe. They got past this stage two years ago, losing to Pafos in the third qualifying round.

Champions Get Second Chance

The domestic champions path will get underway as well, featuring 12 of the 14 losing sides from the Champions League first qualifying round.

Perhaps the pick of the bunch will be the tie between Flora Tallinn and The New Saints. It will be a first-time meeting between two clubs with plenty of experience in European play. Borac Banja Luka also have an interesting tie, facing Moldova's Petrocub. The Bosnians have failed to progress from any of their last four continental ties.

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Sutjeska carry the pressure of trying to become Montenegro's first-ever group phase representatives. They have a difficult tie against ML Vitebsk. Floriana and Drita square off, with the former looking to match Ħamrun Spartans' impressive feat of making the league phase last term.

Luxembourg's Atert Bissen face a stiff test against Hungarian outfit Győr, who just missed out on league phase football a year ago. Much will be expected from the side who ended Ferencváros' streak as Hungarian champions. The other tie in the champions path has Vardar facing Riga FC.

Opportunity for Upsets?

This round provide plenty of opportunity for some of the minnow clubs to cause a shock and knock out a bigger name. That certainly is the case for Inter Turku, who will try their luck against İstanbul Başakşehir. Georgia's Dila Gori, meanwhile, have Apollon Limassol, where the Cypriot club aim to make it to a sixth group phase.

Scotland's Motherwell get their Conference League campaign up and running versus HB Tórshavn, while Hibernian take on Malisheva. The Scottish pair will be heavily favoured to advance, but will have to be careful to avoid complacency.

Raków Częstochowa, who are starting to make a name in European play, have Valletta FC in their tie. The Maltese outfit drew both of their matches against Ruch Chorzów in the Europa League 16 years ago, losing on away goals.

Azeri side Zirə are certain to fancy their chances of making the third qualifying round for the second time in three years. Their challenge comes in the form of Paide, who are partaking in continental football for the seventh year running. Romania's FCSB are up against Auda, the Latvians having been eliminated in each of the first three qualifying rounds in the last three years.

Toss-up Ties Everywhere

Many of the ties in the second qualifying round will be tough to call. That is certainly the case between Debrecen and Pyunik. Both teams have group phase experience, though the Hungarians have not gotten that far since 2010/11. An all-Nordic clash takes place between GAIS and FC Nordsjælland, presenting a great chance for the Swedes to claim a respectable result.

Universitatea Cluj look to bounce back from Europa League heartbreak in their tie against SK Brann. The Norwegians have fallen at the final hurdle of UECL qualifying twice. Bravo face North Macedonia's Shkëndija, while Koper face an NSÍ Runavík team coming off their first-ever success in a qualifying round tie. Slovenia's other team in this round, Aluminij, are up versus Dinamo Tirana.

It is a second-ever European tie for Varaždin, who meet Czechia's Jablonec. Croatia's other entrant will fancy their chances a bit more, as Rijeka face Derry City. As for Switzerland's pair of sides, Sion face a continental regular in BATE Borisov, with Lugano meeting a potentially tricky clash against Dukagjini - Kosovo's cup winners.

It is another Nordic clash for Stjarnan, who take on Ilves. Fellow Icelandic outfit Valur Reykjavik have a fascinating clash with Zrinjski Mostar. The Bosnian Cup winners made it as far as the knockout stages last spring. City rivals Velež Mostar take on DAC, while second tier Vestri look to get something out of their debut European campaign against RFS.

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Shelbourne and Bohemians are certain to smell blood in their ties against Nõmme Kalju and Ballkani, respectively. Žilina face a GKS Katowice side making their return to the continental scene 23 years from their last foray. Lithuania's duo - Žalgiris Vilnius and Panevėžys - have fascinating matchups against Dinamo Tbilisi and Tobol Kostanay, respectively.

Zimbru Chișinău, who have been knocked out of the UECL at this stage in all three of their other appearances, meet a Noah team that have played in the league phase in each of the last to years. The Armenians even got to the knockout round last spring.

Finland's HJK Helsinki and Coleraine face off in a battle of the Finnish and Northern Irish cup holders, while another all-cup winners duel pits together Vaduz and Atlètic Club d'Escaldes. AEK Larnaca take on Beitar Jerusalem, with the Cypriot having been knocked out by Israeli opposition twice in the qualifying stages, which will not make things easy for them.

IFK Göteborg will be favoured against the Estonian league leaders FCI Levadia Tallinn. A similar thing could be said for Neftçi, who meet Dinamo Minsk. Alashkert and CFR Cluj square off, where the latter won 7-0 on aggregate when the pair met in the Europa League eight years ago.