Champions League: Small League Heroes Seeking Spotlight in First Qualifying Round

A good mix of established European teams and emerging sides

Despite it feeling like the 2024-25 season just came to a close, we’re already back up and running for the first qualifying round of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign. There’s still a long road to go for these teams, who will all have dreams of competing against Europe’s elite.

For those starting in the Champions Path first round, they’ll have to make it through three rounds of qualifying in addition to a final play-off round in order to make it to the league stage. In total, 28 teams will take part over a two-legged tie with the winners moving on to the second qualifying round.

Notable teams

Those who have followed European football for a while will immediately recognise a few of the names on this list. Let’s dive a bit deeper into each side and what they can expect in their first round matchup:

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad

Ludogorets is the dominant force in Bulgarian football with a staggering 14 consecutive league titles. They’re one of the most recognisable teams in this round and will be expecting nothing less than to make a deep qualifying run, potentially even to the play-off round.

Their first round matchup sees them going up against Dinamo Minsk, who are making their first UCL qualifying appearance in 20 years. Ludogorets are big favourites to progress and with their experience in Europe combined with their dominance on home soil, it would come as a huge shock if they were to fail to qualify. See what our experts think in our Ludogorets vs Dinamo Minsk prediction!

Ludogorets history in UEFA competitions

Ludogorets is a team with plenty of pedigree in UEFA competitions with 11 group stage appearances all time. While they’ve appeared in the Champions League group stages only twice (most recently 2016-17), they’ve been a consistent presence in the Europa League over the past decade.

More on the UEFA Champions League 

Malmo FF

One of the most notable names in the list of first round qualifiers is Swedish side Malmo. They last competed in the group stage of the Champions League in the 2021-22 campaign and they’ve been a staple in the qualifiers throughout the years, making it to the play-off last season.

Their first round matchup sees them taking on minnows FC Iberia 1999. Malmo are overwhelming favourites to get by the Georgian league champions, who are making only their second appearance in Champions League qualifying. Despite this, our FC Iberia 1999 vs Malmo prediction sees our experts backing the Georgians to get on the scoreboard!

Malmo FF history in UEFA competitions

Malmo became the first Nordic team to make the final of the European Cup when they finished as runners-up to Nottingham Forest in the 1978-79 edition. Since the restructuring and rebranding to the UEFA Champions League, Malmo have competed in the group stage three times, with the most recent occurring in the 2021-22 season.

The New Saints

Only one of two British teams in the first qualifying round is The New Saints. TNS competes in the Welsh Cymru Premier, although the team is based in Oswestry, England. They will face off against Shkendija in the first qualifying round, where our experts fancy the Welsh side to grab the win in the first leg on home soil!

The oddsmakers have The New Saints as slight underdogs to qualify for the second round, meaning they will have to take full advantage of this first leg. See the full analysis in our The New Saints vs Shkendija prediction.

The New Saints history in UEFA competitions

The only appearance for TNS was in the 2024-25 Conference League where they were eliminated in the league stage. However, they did make history as this marked the first ever appearance by a Welsh side in the group/league stage of a major UEFA competition. They’ll now be hoping to parlay that success and raise the profile of Welsh football as a whole with an appearance in the UCL league stage.

Full 2025-26 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round fixture list

• KuPS vs Milsami
• FC Iberia 1999 vs Malmo FF
• Noah vs Buducnost Podgorica
• Levadia vs RFS
• Olimpija vs Kairat
• The New Saints vs Shkendija
• Vikingur vs Lincoln Red Imps
• Drita vs FC Differdange 03
• Egnatia vs Breidablik
• Virtus vs Zrinjski
• Zalgiris vs Hamrum
• Ludogorets vs Dinamo Minsk
• FCSB vs Inter d'Escaldes
• Shelbourne vs Linfield

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