Europa League Third Qualifying Round Preview

The most important round of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers is here, with the penultimate qualifying round in play. A total of 26 sides are involved hoping to secure league phase football for the fall by the end of the two legs.

Ahead of what is a crucial stage of the UEL, here is a preview of all 13 ties to occur.

Champions Get Second Chance

This is the first and only round of the Europa League where there is a dedicated champions path. Lech Poznań are one of the 12 domestic champions looking to benefit at a second shot at guaranteeing group football against KÍ Klaksvík. Lech have successfully negotiated the qualifying stages in three of their last four European participations, while KÍ are on a 16-game unbeaten run at home in qualifiers. They are looking to progress from a UEL tie for the first time in seven years.

Two teams who made their main round debuts last term, KuPS Kuopio and CS Universitatea Craiova, will do battle in what is a fascinating tie. The Finnish outfit were knocked out of Europe twice by Romanian opposition, and will look to change that trend in this tie. For CSU Craiova, both of their successful UEL ties came in the 2019/20 season, where they reached this stage before losing to AEK Athens.

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Shamrock Rovers are back in UEL qualifying and will meet an Egnatia team who will be playing their maiden tie in the competition. The Albanians are on the cusp of being just the second side from their nation to reach the group phase. In contrast, Shamrock have been regular participants in the Conference League proper, reaching that stage thrice.

Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps will have their hands full in this tie as they battle Omonoia Nicosia. This is another tie featuring two teams who partook in the UECL proper last term. Lincoln will have their second crack at a Cypriot team after losing to AEK Larnaca in the UEL first qualifying round in 2017/18. For Omonoia, they have gotten to the knockout round playoffs of the Conference League in the last two seasons, but no further. They have gotten to at least the playoff round in the Europa League in each of their last three appearances, though this is their first foray since 2022/23.

Thun and Víkingur Reykjavík face each other in a tie between two clubs who would argue they should still be in the Champions League. Instead, neither could hold onto their leads, and now do battle to secure a coveted league phase place. Víkingur have won their last six at home in Europe, scoring multiple times in all but one in that run. In the UEL era, Thun have reached this stage or better in all four of their showings, going as far as the group stage back in 2013/14.

Tie of the Round: Larne vs Iberia 1999

The other tie in the champions path not yet covered is the pick for tie of the round, as Larne play Iberia 1999 in what is an absolutely vital tie for both clubs and their respective nations. The UEFA coefficient rankings will be impacted by this tie for sure.

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This is the sixth consecutive campaign that Larne are representing Northern Ireland in Europe, becoming the first and only club to reach the group phase of a major UEFA club competition. Yet, they will be involved in their maiden Europa League clash, something they are trying to make the most of. The Invermen are part of their fourth different third qualifying round tie - the other three coming in the UECL - and have only gotten through once.

They are up against an Iberia 1999 club who are already assured their best-ever European campaign, eclipsing their debut year in 2018/19. Interestingly, of the six continental match wins the Red Eagles have all-time, four of them have come on the road. They are 2-2-7 at home versus 4-2-6 on the road. Currently leading their domestic league midway through, Iberia are aiming to end a 22-year wait for Georgia to have a group phase representative once again.

Opportunity Arises in Main Path

The seven remaining matchups occur in the main path, with the most interesting clash being between PAOK Thessaloniki and Anderlecht. PAOK have enjoyed some mixed success versus Belgian teams, having lost both legs of their 2023/24 Conference League quarterfinal against Club Brugge. Anderlecht's most recent experience against a Greek team was a little less than a year ago when AEK Athens denied them group phase football in the UECL playoff round.

Jagiellonia Białystok have an arduous task ahead of them in the form of Scottish giants Rangers. Jaga's past UEL Q3 ties both ended in defeat against Aris Thessaloniki in 2010/11 and versus Gent eight years later. They have gotten more European experience of late though, getting to the knockout stages of the UECL in each of the last two years. Rangers will be reasonably confident in this tie thanks in large part to their solid 7-2-2 record versus Polish sides.

It is an ever tougher ask for the other Scottish team in this round, Hearts, who go up versus Benfica. The pair have met before in the 1960/61 European Cup. Of course, the Portuguese side prevailed en route to their first of two titles in the competition. However, Hearts did knock out Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup 22 years ago, which could be motivation for them. Benfica did prevail in their last tie against a Scottish team, taking out Rangers in the 2023/24 campaign at the last 16.

Hradec Králové face Beşiktaş in a tie that favours the Turkish side. They own a 3-1-2 record versus Czech clubs, while Hradec are involved in just their third European campaign.Votroci progressed from two ties 31 years ago in the Cup Winners Cup. They will aim to do the same this time around.

For Ferencváros, they meet Górnik Zabrze in a first-time meeting. The Hungarians lost to Gwardia Warszawa in the 1973/74 UEFA Cup first round in their only other meeting with a Polish team.

Maccabi Tel Aviv and CSKA Sofia do battle as the Israeli club search for a third successive appearance in the Europa League proper. They have never met a Bulgarian team before though. This is the fourth time in a row CSKA have made Q3 of the UEL starting from the opening round, having gone as far as the group stage six years ago.

Finally, RB Salzburg enter the UEL directly for the first time in 14 years, with the Austrians set to take on Pafos. Both of RBS' other European ties with Cypriot sides ended in success, as they knocked out Omonoia twice. Pafos, who pulled off an impressive comeback last round, have reached the UECL proper and UCL proper in each of their last two seasons, and will be looking to complete the set with the UEL this time around.