Champions League: Fenerbahce, Rangers, and Benfica Headline Action-Packed UCL Third Round Qualifiers
by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga
Round Three, The Play Offs, Then Onto the 36-Team League Stage
Twenty-nine European teams qualified directly for the UCL league phase. The additional seven teams will earn their spot in the ongoing qualifying phase.
As a reminder, we are currently in the third round of the qualifiers. This stage will feature 20 teams, six qualifying from the Champions Path and four through the League Path.
The winners will enter the play-off round of their respective path. Meanwhile, the defeated teams in the Champions Path will directly enter the Europa League play-off round, while the league path losers are off to the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.
The final round of the Champions League Qualifiers is the play-offs, in which the winners advance to the 36-team league stage. Meanwhile, the losers will be demoted to the Europa League group phase.
Rangers vs Victoria Plzen
The fourth Tuesday matchup sees Rangers welcoming the Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox.
New boss Russell Martin started his domestic tenure at Rangers with a draw during the weekend, but the real test of might will be in Europe. Already, Rangers delivered a strong display during the second qualification round.
Despite cruising to a 2-0 home win at Ibrox, Rangers were pegged 1-1 in the tense second leg, with substitute Djeidi Gassama striking a 63rd-minute goal to end Panathinaiko's campaign.
Viktoria Plzen, who had a shaky start to their previous campaign, where they lost 1-0 in the first leg, ended up defeating Swiss side Servette 3-2 on aggregate. Scottish giants Rangers will be determined to qualify for the UCL group stage for the first time since 22/23, and a victory at home will put them in firm control of the tie.
See our expert’s full analysis on the game in our Rangers vs Viktoria Plzeň prediction.
Feyenoord vs Fenerbache SK
The most anticipated tie of the Champions League qualifying round sees Robin Van Persie’s
Feyenoord plays host to Fenerbahce at De Kuip on Wednesday. The winner of this matchup will face either Benfica or Nice in this month’s playoffs.
To many people’s surprise, Feyenoord had an impressive run in the 2024/25 Champions League, earning 13 points from eight group stage matches while beating AC Milan in the knockouts. They were then eliminated 4-1 on aggregate by eventual finalists Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho coached Fenerbahce to a second-place Super Lig finish last season, and he will be focused on leading the side to their first UCL main draw since 2008-09. For betting insights into the match, find out what our experts say will happen in the full Feyenoord vs Fenerbahce prediction.
Full List of Champions League Third Round Qualifiers
Discover all the UCL qualifiers taking place this week and next week.
Champions Path:
- Malmö vs Copenhagen
- Shkëndija vs Qarabağ
- Dynamo Kyiv vs Pafos
- Kairat Almaty vs Slovan Bratislava
- Ludogorets vs Ferencváros
- Lech Poznań vs Crvena Zvezda
League Path:
- Rangers vs Viktoria Plzeň
- Feyenoord vs Fenerbahçe
- Nice vs Benfica
- RB Salzburg vs Club Brugge
