Europa League: Qualifiers Get Underway With High Stakes
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
The long qualifying journey begins
Just under two months have passed since Tottenham were crowned champions and we’re already underway with the qualifying stage for the 2025-26 Europa League campaign. The Main Path section of qualifying will see 16 teams start out in the first round with the ultimate goal of reaching the league stage of the Europa League. However, it will require a grueling road of three qualifying rounds plus a final play-off to make it to the promised land.
Keep in mind that the losing teams in the first round are still in contention for a spot in a UEFA competition as they would drop into the Conference League second qualifying round.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the top matches for this round.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Ilves Tampere
Probably the most recognisable team in the first round of qualifying is Shakhtar Donetsk. A regular competitor in the UEFA Champions League over the past 20 years, they are the biggest favourites to advance out of all the teams in this round. Shakhtar is facing significant challenges, however. They continue to play their matches at neutral venues. For this particular fixture, they’ll be playing at the Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Part of what makes this such a captivating fixture is the dynamic at play. Shakhtar is an established European powerhouse and happen to have the highest UEFA club coefficient in this round at 52.000. Ilves Tampere, meanwhile, is a minnow team that is making only its third appearance in Europa League qualifying, where they have never progressed past the first round. Will the Finns be able to pull off a shock result? See what our experts think in our Shakhtar Donetsk vs Ilves prediction!
Sheriff Tiraspol vs Prishtina
Die-hard fans of the Champions League will likely recognise this name. Sheriff Tiraspol pulled off a remarkable 2-1 away win over Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in the 2021-22 Champions League group stages, marking arguably the most important victory in club history. They’ll be hoping to build on their Conference League round of 16 appearance in 2022-23, which was the furthest the team has ever gotten in a UEFA competition.
Prishtina is in the qualifiers for a UEFA competition for the first time since the 2021-22 season. That also marked the closest they had ever come to making it to the group stages, as they finished the Conference League qualifying in the third round. In the Europa League, they have never made it past the first round. They’ll have their work cut out for them and are significant underdogs to advance past the experienced Sheriff. Our experts think there will be goals in the first leg matchup - see the full analysis in our Sheriff Tiraspol vs FC Prishtina prediction!
Legia Warszawa vs FC Aktobe
Legia Warszawa will be a name familiar to those who have followed UEFA football over the years. Legia made the quarter-final of the Conference League last year, losing out to eventual winners Chelsea. They’ll have high hopes this time around and have a respectable pedigree in Europe, having participated in this competition 25 times going back to the time of its predecessor, the UEFA Cup.
Their opponents, meanwhile, don’t have a whole lot of experience at this stage. For many on the team, it will be their first taste of Europa League football, with the Kazakhstani club’s last appearance in this competition coming in the 2016-17 campaign. They dipped their feet in last year in the Conference League, but were sent home in the first qualifying round on penalties. Will they be able to step up to the plate this time and spring the upset? See what our experts are saying in our Legia Warsaw vs FC Aktobe prediction!
Big money, high pressure
The financial incentive for these clubs makes these quite literal high-stakes matches. While a win in the qualifying rounds won’t net as much as a win in the league stage (worth €453,000 in 2024-25), there’s still roughly €160,000 to €360,000 awarded to the winner depending on the round.
Many of these teams are from small nations with a low UEFA coefficient. Making it to the later rounds, and eventually to the league stage, would provide a massive financial boon.
Last season, even the teams that finished towards the bottom of the league stage such as Nice, Qarabag and Besiktas earned in the range of €8 to €11 million. Meanwhile, teams that finished around 18th in the standings took home an estimated €14-€16 million.
For teams such as Paritizan Belgrade, who reportedly have the highest debt number of all the first round qualifying teams at €45 million, making it to the league stage of the UEL is crucial. The influx of cash could potentially save the club from having to restructure or sell their top players.
Winning also boosts the club’s UEFA coefficient, which in turn raises or maintains the overall profile and reputation of that league, which could lead to more qualifying slots or more favorable matchups in the future.
Full first round fixture list
- Sabah vs Celje
- AEK Larnaca vs Partizan Belgrade
- Sheriff vs Prishtina
- Paksi FC vs CFR Cluj
- Levski Sofia vs Hapoel Be'er-Sheva
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Ilves
- Spartak Trnava vs Hacken
- Legia Warszawa vs FC Aktobe
