Who will English and Scottish clubs face in UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League play-offs?
Published 03/08/2026 at 15:36 GMT+1
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The battle to reach the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is heating up, with several European giants hoping to go head-to-head with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid during the upcoming season.
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Scottish champions Celtic are among the teams who discovered the next step on their path to Europe’s elite competition when the play-off round draw took place on Monday, August 3.
Martin O'Neill’s side have progressed automatically to the Champions League play-off round after pipping Hearts to the Scottish Premiership title last term.
However, the likes of Olympiacos, Lyon and Fenerbahce are still two steps away from the league phase.
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Who will Celtic play in the UEFA Champions League play-off round?
Celtic are currently competing in the Champions Path of the competition, as a result of finishing top of their domestic table last term.
They will face Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off round, with the first leg scheduled for August 18 or 19, and the second leg set to take place on either August 25 or 26.
The winner of the clash will qualify for the league phase of the competition.
Champions path
- Celtic v LASK
- Levski Sofia / Kairat Almaty v AEK Athens
- Dinamo / Kauno Zalgiris v Viking FK
- Mjallby AIF / Slovan Bratislava v FC Ararat-Armenia / NK Celje
- Hapoel Beer-Sheva / Crvena Zvezda v AGF Aarhus / Sabah
League path
- Fenerbahce / Sturm Graz v Sparta Praha / Lyon
- Olympiacos / N.E.C. Nijmegen v Union Saint-Gilloise / Bodo/Glimt
Who will Brighton, Motherwell and Hibernian play in UEFA Conference League play-off round?
Brighton & Hove Albion, Motherwell and Hibernian are all hoping to compete in the UEFA Conference League proper during the 2026/27 campaign.
Brighton are already through to the Main Path play-off round, and they found out their opponents on Monday, August 3. The Seagulls will face the winner of CFR Cluj’s clash with Tromso.
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Their Scottish counterparts will need to come out on top in the third qualifying round to reach the play-offs.
If Motherwell beat Finnish side HJK, then they will face a tough test against last season’s UEFA Europa League finalists Freiburg in the play-offs.
If Hibernian get the better of Shkendija in the third qualifying round, then they will take on IFK Goteborg or Gent in the play-offs
The first legs of the play-off fixtures are scheduled for August 6, with the second set to take place on August 13.
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Who will Hearts and Rangers play if they reach UEFA Europa League play-off round?
Hearts and Rangers will face Benfica and Jagiellonia Bialystok, respectively, in the Main Path of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League, with the first legs set for August 6 and the second scheduled for August 13.
If the two Scottish sides win, they will progress to the play-off round.
If Rangers beat Jagiellonia Bialystok, they will face the winner of Northern Irish side Larne’s clash with Georgian club Iberia 1999.
If Hearts can upset Portuguese giants Benfica, then they will play the loser of the Champions League Champions Path clash between AGF and Sabah.
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