The UEFA Champions League continues with the second qualifying round of play. Fourteen sides prevailed from the first round of qualification, and are now joined by 16 sides – 10 in the Champions path and six in the non-champions path – for the next round.

Ahead of the next stage, which will see some more familiar teams enter the fray, here is The Deck’s preview of each of the 15 ties. We will also predict who will move on to the third qualifying round, where five more teams – all in the non-champions path – await.

UEFA Champions League: Second Qualifying Round

Champions Path: Former Champions Look to Avoid Slip-Up

We start with two northern clubs as Latvia’s RFS meets Malmö in their tie. Both teams successfully negotiated the first qualifying round to get here, winning both legs. It is the second year in a row that RFS will be involved at this stage, having lost to Bodø/Glimt 7-1 on aggregate. They have never gotten farther than this stage in the competition. For Malmö, they survived this stage in three of their last four appearances. The exception came three years ago, when Žalgiris Vilnius shocked them. They are, however, 3-3-0 versus Latvian teams, winning each tie against them. Prediction: Malmö 

Ħamrun Spartans takes on Dynamo Kyiv, knowing they are one more successful tie away from history. No Maltese side has ever made a group phase in a major European club competition, something that would change if Ħamrun advances. They came the closest to achieving that feat 2022/23, when the reached the UEFA Conference League playoff round. Now, they have three chances of doing so. They are up against a Dynamo team who has not been knocked out of the competition at this stage in two decades since Switzerland’s Thun did so back in 2005/06. Prediction: Dynamo Kyiv

Perhaps the most intriguing tie in the Champions Path this round will be between Paphos and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Cypriot champions enjoyed an excellent maiden continental run last term, reaching the last 16 of the UECL. Their impressive home form, where they went 7-0-2, played a big role there. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 26-time Israeli champion, has never defeated a side from Cyprus cross four previous attempts (0-3-1). Their best run in Europe also came in the Conference League, where they also reached the round of 16. Prediction: Paphos

Lincoln Red Imps will be up against it as they face former European Cup winners Crvena zvezda. The Gibraltarians have gotten to the second round of Champions League qualifying for the seventh occasion. They have just one win across 12 matches at this stage – a stunning 1-0 defeat of Celtic nine years ago. That could give Red Star something to think about. It is their eighth straight appearance in the UCL, having never been eliminated in this round. They did lose their last away leg at this stage four years ago against Kairat Almaty. Prediction: Crvena zvezda

Another team coming off their greatest European journey, FC Noah, takes on Ferencváros. First-time winners in Armenia in 2024/25, Noah will be in UEFA club competition play for just the fourth time. Having made the UECL league phase last fall, they will be hoping to at minimum do the same on this occasion. Their Hungarian opponents are no strangers to UCL qualifiers: this is Fradi’s seventh consecutive year playing in the UCL. They have faced one Armenian team in the past, knocking off Ulisses in the UEFA Europa League 14 years ago. Prediction: Ferencváros

Lech Poznań is back in Europe, and will have a potentially tricky opponent in Breiðablik. It is the fourth time Lech has an Icelandic club to face. They knocked off ÍBV in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, but was surprisingly eliminated at the hands of Stjarnan 11 years ago in the UEL. The Polish outfit needed extra time in their last tie three years ago in beating Víkingur Reykjavík, so they will be in for a challenge. Both of Breiðablik previous Champions League showings saw them lose at this stage, to Rosenborg in 2011/12, and to FC København two summers ago. This is their first tie against a side from Poland. Prediction: Lech Poznań

Speaking of FC København, their tie will see them face Drita of Kosovo. The Danes reached the round of 16 in their last Champions League appearance, losing to Manchester City. It has been 21 years since a side knocked out FCK in the second round of qualification, when they fell 5-3 on aggregate to Gorica. Drita has been ever-present in Europe over the last six seasons. They reached the UECL playoff round last summer before bowing out to Legia Warszawa. They have won three of their last four home games in European play. Prediction: FC København

Rijeka will enjoy Champions League football for the third time as they face Ludogorets. The Croats completed their second domestic double last season, dethroning Dinamo Zagreb in doing so. Eight years ago, which was their last appearance, they took out The New Saints 7-1 in this round, reaching the playoff round. They have lost at the final hurdle of UECL qualifying in three of the last four seasons. In contrast, Ludogorets is involved in UCL football for the 14th year running. Орлите lost to Dinamo Zagreb on both occasions they faced them in qualifying. Prediction: Ludogorets

Shkëndija is the other team to meet a former European Cup winner, as they battle FCSB. The North Macedonian outfit will have reason to believe they can cause an upset. After all, they did prevail in their only previous European match against a Romanian team, eliminating Botoșani in a one-off Europa League tie five years ago. However, FCSB has defeated teams from North Macedonia in all four matchups. On both occasions, they won the home leg 3-0 and the away one 2-1. They have not seen elimination in UCL Q2 since 1998/99. Prediction: FCSB

For third season in four, and fourth overall, Slovan Bratislava takes on Zrinjski Mostar. All three previous two-legged ties have gone the way of the Slovak club. However, the last two were decided by one goal and a penalty shootout. Slovan has reached a group phase in five of the last six campaigns, including the Champions League proper last year. They have prevailed in their last five qualifiers at home. Since Maribor knocked out Zrinjski eight years ago at this exact stage, the Bosnians have reached Q3 in every campaign since. In fact, they will be in the playoff round in Europe for the fourth year running. Prediction: Zrinjski

Shelbourne, who won the all-Ireland affair last round, meets Qarabağ next in what will be another difficult tie. Since reaching the final round of UEFA Cup qualifying 21 years ago, both of the Shels’ subsequent European runs ended at this round. Things will be change in this year, as they are assured a UECL PO spot. They are looking to become the third Irish team to make a group phase after Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk. Speaking of the latter, Qarabağ eliminated them in their only previous tie against an Irish team. That came at this exact round six years ago (4-1 on aggregate). Prediction: Qarabağ

KuPS Kuopio will look for more success against Kazakh teams as they take on Kairat Almaty. This is the Finnish club’s best chance at making a group phase after losing in the UECL playoffs against Union Berlin in 2021/22. During that run, they defeated Astana in Q3 with a 5-4 aggregate score. As for Kairat, who reached the UECL proper in the competition’s maiden season, this will be their first crack versus a side from Finland. They failed to progress beyond this stage of the Champions League in their previous two goes at it. Crvena zvezda defeated them in their most recent effort four years ago. Prediction: KuPS Kuopio

Non-Champions Path: Former European Finalists Square Off

Brann will get their first crack at the Champions League since 2008/09 when they meet RB Salzburg. It has been 18 years since the Norwegians made the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup, losing to Everton. It is their third straight European campaign, reaching the Conference League playoff stage in each of the last two. They are unbeaten in their last six continental home games (4-2-0). For Salzburg, they are looking to reach the UCL proper for the seventh year running. With that said, this is their earliest showing in the competition since 2017/18. Prediction: RB Salzburg

Viktoria Plzeň takes on Servette in what is a repeat of one of the UECL knockout playoff ties in 2023/24. That was won by the Czech club, who last featured in the UCL proper three years ago. Since then, they have reached the Conference League quarterfinals as well as the round of 16 in the Europa League. They have conceded just three goals in their last 12 qualifying round matches. Servette will look to take inspiration from their last UCL appearance two summers ago, when they knocked off Genk on penalties at this stage. They are 2-4-2 all-time versus Czech opposition. Prediction: Viktoria Plzeň

We close this preview with the tie of the round, as Rangers and Panathinaikos square off in a blockbuster clash. This will be the fifth and sixth matchups between the two storied clubs, 17 years on from the last. Rangers has never defeated Pana in four previous meetings (0-3-1), although they did get the better of their Greek opponents in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup last 32 on away goals en route to reaching the final. Overall, the ‘Gers own a 1-5-3 record against teams from Greece. In contrast, Panathinaikos has never lost to a Scottish team (4-3-0), despite the aforementioned elimination. The season after that UEFA Cup elimination was their last showing in the Champions League proper. Prediction: Panathinaikos