We are already into the second half of UEFA Champions League qualification for the 2025/26 season. Two rounds have gone by, providing some remarkable results. Now comes the reached the third qualifying round, where five new clubs enter the competition. All 20 teams involved in this round will be in a league phase come September/October, but now it is just a matter of finding out which one.
Ahead of the ties in the penultimate round of UCL qualifying, The Deck previews the 10 matchups to take place. We will also predict which team will advance from each tie.
UEFA Champions League: Third Qualifying Round
Champions Path: All-Nordic Clash Leads the Way
Perhaps the biggest tie in the Champions Path in this round will see Malmö take on FC København in an all-Nodic meeting. Across four previous meetings against Danish opposition, the Allsvenskan outfit has never lost (2-2-0). Their only previous two-legged tie came in 2019/20, when they topped Midjtylland in the Europa League playoff round. FCK owns a 1-2-2 record against teams from Sweden, winning 2-1 at Goteborg in UEL Q2 five years ago. They failed to beat Malmö in the 2018/19 Europa League group stage, drawing away before losing at home. Prediction: FC København
Kairat Almaty, already assured to enjoy a second-ever group phase campaign, faces Slovan Bratislava in their tie. It is the second time that the club from Kazakhstan will meet a Slovak side. This comes 20 years on from the previous meeting, where they fell 5-3 on aggregate to Artmedia Bratislava in their maiden Champions League foray. For Slovan, unbeaten in their last six qualifying round home games, they are looking for an immediate return to the UCL proper. Their sole previous matchup against a Kazakh club was a success when they beat Tobol in UCL Q1 14 years ago. Prediction: Slovan Bratislava
Lech Poznań faces off against Crvena zvezda in what promises to be a fascinating two legs. Lech’s last journey in UCL qualification came in 2022/23, when they ultimately enjoyed a run to the Conference League quarterfinals. However, they have successfully negotiated a Q3 tie in Europe just three times, falling to Spartak Trnava in their most recent showing. Red Star has enjoyed much success versus Polish clubs. They are a perfect 4-0-0 in such matches, keeping clean sheets in their last three. They are striving for a fourth appearance in the UCL proper. Prediction: Crvena zvezda
Two teams with plenty of recent European experience – Ludogorets and Ferencváros – square off. All four of the sides’ other meetings came in the 2019/20 season, where the Bulgarians struggled. Owning a 1-2-3 record versus Hungarian teams, the Razgrad-based outfit will need to improve upon that record if they are to go any further in this season’s Champions League. Funny enough, seven of the 23 goals Fradi has conceded against teams from Bulgaria have come against their UCL Q3 opponents. They have failed to go farther than this in the last three seasons, losing at this stage twice. Prediction: Ferencváros
Dynamo Kyiv will look to end their four-year absence from the UCL proper as they next take on Paphos. In each of their last three participations in Champions League qualifiers, the 17-time Ukrainian winners have gotten past this stage. The last time they failed came in 2019/20, when Club Brugge knocked them out. Of the 20 clubs in this round, Paphos is the only debutant. In what is their eighth two-legged European tie all-time, the Cypriots have won at least one leg in the last seven. In five of those previous seven have they managed to keep a clean sheet in one of the legs. Prediction: Paphos
Shkëndija, enjoying their best-ever European campaign, meets Qarabağ. Seven years on from their only other UCL Q3 appearance, the side from North Macedonia pulled off an upset over FCSB to make it here. They did defeat Sumqayit 2-0 in a one-off UEL Q1 tie back in 2020/21. As for Qarabağ, they are 4-1-0 versus North Macedonian clubs, scoring 11 times. It has been eight years since they became the only team from Azerbaijan to feature in the UCL group phase. Since then, they have reached the UCL playoff round just twice. Prediction: Qarabağ
Non-Champions Path: Big Names Make Presence
Six and a half years on from their last meeting, RB Salzburg faces off against Club Brugge. The Austrians came out on top 5-3 on aggregate in that Europa League round of 32 clash, and own an 8-1-3 record versus Belgian teams all-time. They are striving to make the UCL group phase for the seventh season running. They are facing a Club Brugge team who has also become regular fixtures in the main round of the Champions League. Twice round of 16 participants in the last three seasons, Blauw-Zwart have not been thwarted in a two-legged qualifying round tie since 2017/18. Prediction: Club Brugge
Rangers will be in for a really good tie as they once again face Czech opposition in Viktoria Plzeň. It was at this stage last term where Rangers fell, losing to Dynamo Kyiv. They have failed to reach the Champions League proper in their last two attempts, but have never failed to do so in three years running. Plzeň has proven to be a tricky customer of late. They have lost just once in their last 18 qualifying round matches, winning at least one leg in their last 13 ties. While they have made the UCL proper on four occasions, they have never done so via the non-champions path of qualifying. Prediction: Viktoria Plzeň
OGC Nice and Benfica will do battle in another one of the high-profile ties. After a miserable Europa League campaign last fall, Les Aiglons will be aiming for a maiden UCL group phase appearance. In what is their first-ever meeting with French opposition, the Ligue 1 side will be in for a difficult tie. Two-time European Cup winner Benfica has reached the group phase in each of the last four seasons. Given their strong record versus French teams, they will certainly be favourites to move on in this one. Prediction: Benfica
Our pick for the tie of the round is between Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe. It is not the first time the teams meet in UCL qualifying. The last time came some 23 years ago, where the Dutch side came out on top 3-0 on aggregate. That occasion was the only time this millennium Feyenoord reached the Champions League via the qualifiers. Fener has finished second in Türkiye in each of the last four years. It is the third year in a row they will face an Eredivisie team, having knocked Twente out of the Conference League two summers ago at the playoff round. Prediction: Fenerbahçe