The fifth campaign of the UEFA Conference League continues with second qualifying round play. Two dozen sides got their way past the first stage, and are joined by eight losing teams from the UEFA Europa League, 12 defeated clubs from the UEFA Champions League, as well as 56 new entries.
Ahead of the busiest round of qualifying in the UECL, here is a preview of each of the 50 ties taking place. We will also predict who will advance to the third qualifying round.
UEFA Conference League: Second Qualifying Round
Champions Path: Former Group Phase Teams Hope to Keep Hope Alive
We commence with the Champions Path, where a dozen teams are involved. The New Saints, who has lost twice at this stage before, meets Differdange 03. The last time TNS lost at this stage came against another Luxembourgish side, in Swift Hesperange. Differdange will be looking to make Q3 in Europe for the first time since 2013/14, Another former group phase participant, Žalgiris Vilnius, takes on Linfield. This is a repeat of a Champions League Q1 tie from four years ago, where the Lithuanians prevailed 5-2 on aggregate. They ultimately fell at the playoff round of this competition that summer. Linfield’s best UECL performance also saw them fall at the final hurdle, which happened in 2022/23 against RFS.
There are two ties in this path to feature sides who have never made a group phase. One of them sees FCI Levadia Tallinn face off against Iberia 1999. It is the first time in two decades that Levadia will meet a Georgian club. They lost on the previous occasion – 2-1 on aggregate to Dinamo Tbilisi in UCL qualifying. Iberia has reached Q3 in two of their four previous European runs. Budućnost Podgorica will also square off with Milsami Orhei. Only twice has the Montenegrin outfit gone farther than this round in Europe. They have a more than decent chance here versus a Milsami club that has been knocked out in Q1 or Q2 of qualifying in each of their last seven appearances.
Dinamo Minsk battles Egnatia as the Belarusian team is in search of a fourth group phase showing. They have never met an Albanian side before in UEFA club competitions. Egnatia, in Europe for the third season running, has never lost both legs of a two-legged tie. In fact, their 5-1 reverse in UCL Q1 to Breiðablik was the first time they lost a tie by multiple goals. As for Olimpija Ljubljana, their Q2 tie is against Inter Club d’Escaldes. Winless in their last six in Europe (0-3-3), the Slovenians have featured in the Conference League proper in the last two years. Inter, now in their sixth European season in a row, has been eliminated at this exact stage in all five previous continental forays.
Predictions: Differdange 03, Linfield, FCI Levadia Tallinn, Budućnost Podgorica, Dinamo Minsk, Olimpija Ljubljana
Main Path: Europa League Dropdowns Hope to Bounce Back
Eight of the 11 ties in this section involves a side who lost in the Europa League first qualifying round. Larne meets one of those sides in Prishtina. This is the third year running the side from Northern Ireland meets a Kosovar club. Both previous occasions came against Ballkani, where Larne prevailed last time out after losing the previous occasion. Prishtina got to UECL Q3 in their only other showing in the competition, beating Connah’s Quay at this stage four years ago. Petrocub, meanwhile, has Sabah Baku. It is a maiden clash with an Azeri team for the Moldovan side, who reached the league phase last fall. Three of Sabah’s four defeats over two legs have come in extra time or penalties.
Ararat-Armenia faces off with Universitatea Cluj. The Armenian Premier League runners up from last campaign twice reached the UEL playoff round, in 2018/19 and 2019/20. Since then, however, they have not been back to the final round of qualifiers. As for the club from Romania, this is their first European tie since 1972/73, when they lost to the present-day Levski Sofia. Riga FC meets Dila Gori in their Q2 tie. Currently leading the Virslīga, the former has just one defeat in their last eight home European ties (5-2-1). For Dila, they are looking to reach the penultimate qualifying round for the second straight appearance.
One of two direct clashes from a coefficient perspective, Paksi faces Maribor in a fascinating matchup. The Hungarians fell to CFR Cluj in UEL Q1, with this being their second chance. They reached at least Q3 in both of their other European participations. Maribor beat Videoton, now known as Fehérvár, at this stage of UEL qualifying 15 years ago. Oleksandriya faces off against Partizan Belgrade in the other direct coefficient meeting. The Ukrainians are playing qualifying round football for just the third time, with a record of 1-2-3. Partizan’s record against teams from Ukraine is not promising: just two victories in 12 all-time (2-1-9). Only German and Italian teams have scored more against them than Ukrainian sides (31).
Hibernians will be in it tough as the Maltese outfit takes on Spartak Trnava. Back after missing the last two seasons, both of Hibs’ previous UECL appearances saw them get eliminated in the third qualifying round. Trnava is no stranger to their opponent from Malta, who they have knocked out of Europe thrice. They have never lost in six all-time head-to-heads (5-1-0). St. Joseph’s will have Irish opposition once more in the form of Shamrock Rovers. It is the fourth time in their last five European ties that the Saints will meet a team from Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. Shelbourne took them out last term in Q1. As for the League of Ireland outfit, they are coming off their best European season, where they lost to Molde on penalties in the UECL knockout playoffs.
Ilves, who stunned Austria Wien at this stage a year ago, will look for another upset as they face AZ Alkmaar. The Suomi Cup champion of 2024 reached Q3 for the first time last summer before falling to Djurgården. With that said, they are up against an AZ side who reached the semifinals of the Conference League back in 2022/23. They have lost just twice in their last 36 home games in Europe. Kazakhstan’s Aktobe is also looking for a significant scalp as they battle Sparta Praha. The Red and Whites have reached the playoff round on four separate occasions, but have never gone farther. In contrast, 38-time Czech winners Sparta is a regular in the group phase in Europe. However, their only previous UECL Q2 entry saw them lose out to Viking three years ago.
Of the eight losing teams from UEL Q1, Hapoel Be’er Sheva will have the most interesting tie, meeting AEK Athens. The teams met in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup, where the Greeks prevailed 5-2 over two legs. Hapoel Be’er Sheva did knock out Olympiakos Piraeus in the Champions League back in 2016/17 en route to their greatest European performance to date. AEK has played group football just once in the last five seasons, and has never won three qualifying round ties in the same season.
Predictions: Prishtina, Sabah Baku, Universitatea Cluj, Riga FC, Maribor, Oleksandriya, Spartak Trnava, Shamrock Rovers, AZ Alkmaar, Sparta Praha, AEK Athens
Minnows Keeping Up Hope of Progression
Dečić could not have asked for a trickier Conference League clash as they face Rapid Wien. For the second year running, the Montenegrin side successfully negotiated a European tie. They are also unbeaten in their last four home games in continental action. Rapid has reached the UECL knockout stages twice, going as far as the quarterfinals last season. As for Torpedo Zhodino, they are up against Maccabi Haifa. In what is their seventh run in a UEFA club competition, only once has the side from Belarus gone past Q2, which happened nine years ago. Maccabi Haifa’s last meeting with a Belarusian team came 15 years ago, when they lost to BATE Borisov in UEL Q3 (3-2 aggregate score).
Radnički 1923 is in Europe for the second year running, and will take on KÍ Klaksvík. The Serbs saw their maiden European journey end at the hands of Mornar Bar last summer. As for KÍ, they have made at least Q3 in four of the last five seasons. Group stage participants two years ago, the Faroese outfit will push to get that far once again. Austria Wien has Spaeri in their Conference League tie. Across their last five campaigns playing continental football, the former has only reached the group phase once, back in 2022/23. Surprise Georgian Cup winner Spaeri makes their European bow despite having never played a season in the top flight.
Arda will fancy their chances in Q2 versus HJK Helsniki. Four years on from defeat to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the Bulgarians are back in Europe. They defeated CSKA-Sofia on penalties to claim their country’s last UECL berth. For HJK, they pulled off a remarkable comeback in Q1, maintaining hopes of a fifth successive group stage/league stage appearance. Ballkani meets Floriana in their tie. Two-time group stage participants Ballkani lost to Larne in Q3 last term, their first-ever elimination in UECL qualifying. They did beat Ħamrun Spartans in Q2 a year ago. For Floriana, they are back here in the second qualifying round for the second year on the spin. Their Q1 victory over Haverfordwest County was the first time they won both legs of a UEFA club competition tie.
Vaduz will take on Dungannon Swifts as they look to break a winless run of 10 in Europe (0-4-6). The ever-present side from Liechtenstein has never faced a team from Northern Ireland before, and will hope to return to Q3 after falling at this stage last term. Dungannon’s only other European clash saw them lose to Sūduva in the UEFA Cup 18 years ago, 4-1 on aggregate. For Silkeborg, their first hurdle in an attempt to reach the UECL proper for the second time will come against KA. The Danes fell to Gent last season in Q3, and will hope to enjoy group phase football once again. KA won the Icelandic Cup for the second time in three years, also making UECL Q3 in their previous showing two years ago.
Pyunik battles Győr in what looks to be an interesting clash. It has been eight years since the Armenian club lost before Q3 in Europe. It has been 28 years since Pyunik lost to MTK Budapest in UCL qualifying, their only other meeting with a Hungarian side. Eleven years on from their last continental journey, Győr is back in Europe. They reached the UEL playoff round in 2010/11. Novi Pazar will be the second Serbian team for Jagiellonia Białystok faces in Europe. The Serbs enjoy a maiden European season after a third place finish domestically. Jagiellonia reached the UECL quarterfinals last season, beating TSC in the knockout round playoffs.
Our pick for tie of the round comes between Astana and Zimbru Chișinău in a fascinating matchup. No Kazakh team has enjoyed more group phase appearances in Europe than Astana with seven. They have even reached the round of 32 of the Europa League, albeit eight years ago. Zimbru did come out on top in their only previous two-legged tie in Europe versus a side from Kazakhstan. That came 16 years ago when they defeated Okzhetpes 3-2 on aggregate in UEL Q1. Their best run in Europe saw them reach the UEL playoffs 11 years ago.
Predictions: Rapid Wien, Maccabi Haifa, KÍ Klaksvík, Austria Wien, Arda, Ballkani, Vaduz, Silkeborg, Győr, Jagiellonia Białystok, Zimbru Chișinău
Third Time the Charm for Raków?
Participating in the Conference League qualifiers for the third time, Raków Częstochowa meets Žilina. The Poles, who narrowly missed out on a second Ekstraklasa title, reached the playoff round in both previous appearances in the UECL. The last time they did so, back in 2022/23, they defeated Spartak Trnava 3-0 on aggregate. Also appearing in the competition for the third time, Žilina made the playoff round back in 2021/22. Their last showing came two years ago in a defeat to Gent.
Norway’s Viking has Koper in their Q2 tie. The former stunned Sparta Praha at this stage three years ago, before falling to FCSB in the playoff round. Their only previous group stage appearance came in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup. Koper has never gotten past this round in Europe, with this season being their fifth attempt. Atlètic Club d’Escaldes and Dinamo Tirana will fancy their chances at Q3 as the pair do battle. The Andorrans lost to Partizani Tirana in this round back in 2023/24, their only other Q2 showing in Europe. Dinamo has not won a European tie since 2002/03, when they topped FBK Kaunas in UCL Q1.
Kauno Žalgiris faces Valur Reykjavik in what is a great chance for both to advance. The Lithuanians won a European tie for just the second time in Q1. This is their third showing in Q2, losing all four previous matches. For Valur, they are hoping to reach Q3 in Europe for the second time (only previous occasion came six years ago). It is their second Baltic team in a row after knocking off Flora Tallinn earlier in July. St. Patrick’s Athletic takes on Nõmme Kalju in their tie. It is one loss in last eight European contests (5-2-1) for St. Pats, with five clean sheets in that time. Nõmme has reached Q2 for the first time since 2019/20. They have not gone further since 2016/17, when they beat Maccabi Haifa on penalties.
Albanian side Vllaznia Shkodër meets Víkingur Reykjavík in a tie where both clubs will fancy their chances. Vllaznia will have an Icelandic team for the second summer running, and third time overall. They lost to Valur last summer 6-2 on aggregate. Simlarly, Víkingur had an Albanian opponent this term, beating Egnatia in Q2. They have won five of their last six home games in Europe (5-0-1). FK Sarajevo is up versus CS Universitatea Craiova. All of Sarajevo’s previous ties against Romanian sides in UEL, being eliminated twice. The most recent occasion came 16 years ago versus CFR Cluj in the playoff round. CSU Craiova has never lost at home in the UECL (2-3-0). They fell in the playoff round three years ago on penalties to Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Cypriot runners up Aris Limassol takes on Puskás Akadémia. Aris lost in this round in their only previous appearance back in 2022/23 to Neftçi (3-2 on aggregate). They have scored 21 times in eight qualifying round matches all-time. Before making the UECL PO last term, Puskás had never survived Q2. The Hungarians are unbeaten in their last five continental clashes (1-4-0). Zirə will be up against Hajduk Split in their tie. The side from Azerbaijan took out Osijek on penalties last summer in Q3, going unbeaten at home in 2024/25 (2-1-0). Hajduk’s last group phase came in 2010/11, but has reached the playoff round five times since, most recently in 2022/23.
A year on from their meeting at this stage, Omonoia Nicosia battles Torpedo Kutaisi once again. The Cypriots played in a group phase in three of the last four years, twice in the UECL. They hold a 7-3-2 home record in UECL Torpedo lost this tie 5-2 on aggregate last July. They are looking to get past this round for just the second time after getting to UEL playoff round seven years ago. Cherno More will be out to cause an upset versus İstanbul Başakşehir. Cherno lost in Q2 in both of their most recent participations. Overall, they have not won in their last six games (0-2-4), failing to score on the road in the last three. Başakşehir met Ludogorets in the UEL group stage eight years ago, winning in Bulgaria. It is their time playing in UECL, making the last 16 in 2022/23.
Predictions: Raków Częstochowa, Viking, Atlètic Club d’Escaldes, Valur Reykjavik, Nõmme Kalju, Víkingur Reykjavík, CS Universitatea Craiova, Aris Limassol, Hajduk Split, Omonoia Nicosia, İstanbul Başakşehir