The second matchday of the UEFA Conference League takes centre stage on Thursday, with another 18 matches to occur. There were 16 winners and losers in the opening round three weeks ago, as well as a pair of draws. This round provides an opening for all 36 sides to take a closer step towards the knockout stages.
Here is The Deck’s preview of everything to come in the UECL second round.
UEFA Conference League: Matchday 2
Legia Looking to Bounce Back in Early Kickoff
One of the early kickoffs sees AEK Athens play host to Aberdeen. Both teams were defeated in the opening round, perhaps a surprise for the Greek club. After missing out on league phase football last term, AEK got through a difficult qualifying path to feature this time. They will have reason to feel confident in this one, as they have never been beaten by a Scottish club at home (4-1-0). Aberdeen reached the Conference League group stage two falls ago, but could not advance further. They did manage a point away to PAOK on that occasion though. They will be in search of a maiden success over Greek opposition at the fourth time of asking (0-1-2).
A fascinating all-Nordic tie pits together Breiðablik and KuPS Kuopio. Of course, the pair are nearing the end of their respective domestic campaigns, adding further intrigue to the tie. It is the second time in three years that the Icelandic outfit has gotten this far in the UECL. They are still awaiting their first result though, having lost all six games two falls ago, plus the defeat to Lausanne-Sport to open their league phase. KuPS is one of several clubs making their debut in a UEFA club competition group stage/league phase. They have just one win in their last eight continental away matches (1-2-5).
Drita will fancy their chances as they host Omonoia Nicosia in their tie. The Kosovar champions earned an important point on matchday 1 in Finland. Victory on Thursday would go a long way in helping them towards knockout football. They went 2-0-2 in qualifying at home in the summer, with both wins coming against Luxembourg’s Differdange 03. Omonoia enjoyed their most successful European campaign last term, when they reached the knockout round playoffs before falling to fellow Cypriot side Paphos. They kept two clean sheets on the road in qualifying, scoring nine times.
BK Häcken welcomes Rayo Vallecano as the Swedes aim for a win to go with their draw three weeks back. In Europe for the third season running, Häcken was beaten in all six of their Europa League group phase matches in the 2023/24 campaign. As such, victory on Thursday would make it their first in the main rounds of a UEFA club competition. They go up versus a Rayo team who battled past Shkëndija last time out. This is just their second continental journey – the other coming in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. They reached the quarterfinals then, losing an all-Spanish clash to Alavés.
In Croatia, Rijeka does battle with Sparta Praha. It has been five years since the former managed to get this far into a European season. They have never gone farther than the group phase in Europe, finishing third or fourth in their section each time. Having fallen to a narrow defeat at the start of October, they will need to pick up the pace to avoid falling further behind. Czech regulars Sparta has a 1-2-1 record across their four previous clashes with Croatian opposition, all coming against Dinamo Zagreb. While they have featured in the knockout playoffs in the past, this is Sparta’s maiden group phase appearance in the Conference League.
Our choice for tie of the round has Shakhtar Donetsk facing off against Legia Warszawa. The only previous matchups between the two clubs came in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers back in 2006/07, where the Pitmen prevailed 4-2 on aggregate. Shakhtar is unbeaten in their 2025/26 continental run (5-4-0), which includes a 3-2 success at Aberdeen last time out. In contrast, Legia has already lost thrice in normal time so far. They also was defeated in the opening round, putting them behind the eight ball. They can take confidence in the fact they successfully negotiated this stage of the UECL on both previous occasions.
Shkëndija is set to enjoy their first home game in a group phase, as Shelbourne makes the trip to North Macedonia. Despite defeat three weeks ago, the former put a valiant effort out. Of course, Shkëndija is the first team from their country to make the Conference League proper. They did win three of four qualifying round home ties, so they should have some reason to believe here. Shelbourne knocked off Sloga Jugomagnat in the UCL first qualifying round 25 years ago, earning a victory away on that occasion. As such, they will fancy their chances on Thursday, especially since they prevailed in their last two road matches in qualifiers.
Rapid Wien and Fiorentina face off in what is a repeat of the 2023/24 playoff round encounter between the two. The Austrians got to the quarterfinals last term before being defeated by Djurgården. They only have three victories over Italian opposition across 25 head-to-heads (3-5-17). One of those wins did come at the expense of Fiorentina two years ago. However, La Viola, making their fourth consecutive UECL appearance, did win the tie 2-1 on aggregate. Twice finalists in the competition, Fiorentina is the highest ranked team in this season’s tournament by UEFA coefficient. They went 2-3-3 on the road in the tournament last term.
Strasbourg takes on one of the surprise packages from last campaign in Jagiellonia Białystok. Making their return to continental action six years on from their last showing, the Ligue 1 team has had a solid start. They are unbeaten across their opening three games (2-1-0) in their second-ever group phase campaign. Jagiellonia made the most of their UECL run in 2024/25, making the quarterfinals before falling to Real Betis. They were unbeaten on the road in qualifying (2-1-0), where they struggled last year. They have never taken on a French team in Europe before Thursday’s game.
Also part of the early kickoffs is the clash between AZ Alkmaar and Slovan Bratislava, as the match moved to this timeslot due to averse weather conditions. AZ was on the wrong side of a shocking 4-0 defeat in Cyprus on matchday 1. However, they have a very strong home record, winning their last six, and 11 of 14 (11-2-1). They are going up against a Slovan side who has progressed from the UECL group phase in their last two showings. Their best performance in the tournament came in 2022/23, when they reached the last 16. They are without a win in 10 away matches (0-4-6).
Crystal Palace, Mainz Look for Second Straight Win
Looking to remain unbeaten in their maiden continental voyage, Crystal Palace gets set to host AEK Larnaca. Palace has yet to concede in their three matches so far, two of which they won. They are the only club in the UECL who has not been breached in Europe this term, and is expected to make a deep run in the tournament. The Cypriot side’s deepest run in Europe came three seasons ago when they made it to the round of 16. They were knocked out by an English team in West Ham, who eventually lifted the trophy. Across five UECL away games, AEK has failed to score in four of them.
Ħamrun Spartans has Lausanne-Sport in their opening home game in the league phase. Malta’s first-ever group phase representative in Europe, Ħamrun managed two victories at home this summer. They kept clean sheets on both of those occasions, which played a big part in them getting this far. Lausanne-Sport participated in the Europa League group stage 15 years ago as a second tier club, a rare feat for any side. On that occasion, they lost two of their three away matches as they ended up bottom of the section. Their matchday 1 win puts them in a good position heading into this match.
Lincoln Red Imps sits bottom of the league phase so far, but will look to change that against Lech Poznań. Gibraltar’s record champions are back in the UECL proper four years on from their other appearance. They have lost all seven matches at this round of the competition though, something they will be looking to change. Lech’s only other season in the main round of the Conference League saw them reach the last eight before falling to Fiorentina. They went 2-3-1 on their travels – qualifiers excluded – which was not a bad record at all. After a comfortable win three weeks ago, they will certainly be striving to follow up on that with another one.
Germany’s Mainz plays host to Bosnia’s Zrinjski Mostar in an important clash for both teams. The Bundesliga outfit has a strong home record in their relatively small experience in Europe. Only once have they been defeated across nine contests, winning five times. Their other home outing this season saw them beat Rosenborg 4-1 in the playoff round. Zrinjski is the surprise leader after one round, recording their heaviest home win in continental play. The defending Bosnian champions lost all three of their group games two years ago, failing to score in any of them.
European debutant Samsunspor has Dynamo Kyiv as their opening home match of the league phase. The Turkish club pulled off a surprising win in Poland to kickstart their UECL campaign. It was already their second clean sheet in three games. Victory on Thursday will put them in a very good position to progress. Dynamo has not won an away match in the group phase of a UEFA club competition since 2018, when they reached the last 16 of the Europa League. Two-time UEFA Cup Winners Cup champions, the Ukrainians are playing in the Conference League proper for the first time.
Shamrock Rovers aims to get back on track as they welcome Celje in their tie. The soon-to-be-crowned Irish champions made the knockout stages of the UECL last term after a strong league phase showing. They went unbeaten at home, prevailing twice on their way to a 10th place finish. They were outdone by Celje though, who knocked them out in Europa League qualifying that summer. The Slovenians have picked up from where they left off from last season. They reached the quarterfinals in a best-ever performance by a club from Slovenia. They have already won four times this term, including an impressive victory over AEK Athens three weeks ago.
Sigma Olomouc will be hoping to end their losing run in European play as they take on Raków Częstochowa. Since beating Kairat Almaty in the UEL third qualifying round seven years ago, the Czech Cup winners have lost all five subsequent matches. Making matters worse is the fact they have seldom scored in any of those defeats. Raków is playing the first of two consecutive games against Czech opposition, having won once and lost once in their previous clashes. They impressed in the qualifying rounds, going 5-0-1. The Ekstraklasa runners up from last season then prevailed 2-0 on the opening matchday, already putting them in a good position.
We conclude with a clash between Romania’s CS Universitatea Craiova and FC Noah. There will be much reason to believe that the Romanian champions can get back on track following their matchday 1 reverse. After all, they have never lost a home tie in the Conference League (5-3-0). Given the quality of opposition coming up, they will need to make the most of their game on Thursday if they are to advance. Armenia’s Noah came close to progressing from the group phase last time out, just missing out on knockout football. They are also winners of their last three in Europe.