From Fenerbahce to Drita: six European qualifying ties to watch this week

Fenerbahce will host Lyon in Istanbul on Tuesday at 8pm as part of this week’s European qualifying programme, which also includes Celtic v LASK (Wednesday 8pm) and four other ties scheduled between Tuesday and Thursday.

Several high-profile signings and returning faces feature among the fixtures. Romelu Lukaku has joined Fenerbahce but is unlikely to be fit for Lyon’s visit after sitting out Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Genclerbirligi; “This beautiful country is a second home to me,” Lukaku, who spent part of his childhood in Turkey, said last week. Fenerbahce have also added Mason Greenwood and Nathan Aké to a squad that includes Ederson, N’Golo Kanté and Marco Asensio, while Lyon are aiming to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in 2019-20 — a result that would not be the best start to Ismail Kartal’s fourth spell as head coach should Fenerbahce fail to progress.

Celtic face LASK in a tie that underlines the volatility of these qualifying rounds after Kairat Almaty eliminated Brendan Rodgers’ side at this stage last season on penalties following two goalless draws. The ties carry “prestige, finance,” as Martin O’Neill put it: “They are big games in every aspect … prestige, finance,” said Martin O’Neill. Celtic must also cope without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will serve a three-match ban for a red card he received playing for Besiktas in the Conference League in 2023.

Trabzonspor’s clash with Ferencvaros could see Mohamed Salah make his home debut after he came off the bench — along with Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral — in the second half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Kasimpasa. Ferencvaros, who played a glamour friendly against Real Madrid in Budapest as part of their pre-season preparations, replaced Robbie Keane with Balazs Borbely in the dugout and include Naby Keïta in their ranks. The Hungarian Cup winners have already been to Serbia, the Netherlands and Poland in three rounds of Europa League qualifying so far.

Egnatia meet Lillestrøm with Hans Erik Ødegaard credited for a rapid turnaround since his appointment after the Norwegian side’s relegation in 2024: he oversaw their immediate return to the top flight unbeaten and won the Norwegian Cup. Ødegaard, who worked in Real Madrid’s academy after his son’s move there in 2015, will lead Lillestrøm into their first European main draw since the Uefa Cup in 2000-01, with defeat still guaranteeing them a Conference League place. Their opponents, Egnatia, are Albanian champions for the past three years and overturned a 3-1 deficit to Shamrock Rovers in the previous round.

Brighton travel to Tromsø, where supporters are warned to expect cold and wet conditions — it is forecast to be 13C and raining — at Europe’s most northern professional club located more than 200 miles into the Arctic Circle. Tromsø, who dropped down from Europa League qualifying, will seek to use their artificial turf and home conditions to their advantage; “Facing our style of play on artificial turf could potentially come as a shock to them,” said Jørgen Vik. Tromsø and Lillestrøm are two of five Eliteserien teams involved in European playoffs this week, and “There is a great deal of confidence in Norwegian football right now,” said Vik.

Inter Club d’Escaldes face Drita on Thursday at 7pm, with Inter seeking to go one round further than in six previous European qualifying campaigns since they won their first Andorran league title in 2020. Coached by Felip Ortiz, a former goalkeeper who shared a flat with Carles Puyol when they were teenagers at Barcelona, Inter routed Flora Tallinn 6-0 in the previous round. Drita, the reigning champions of Kosovo who reached the knockout stage of last season’s Conference League, stand between Inter and a first appearance a round further into European qualifying.

All six ties form this week’s phase of European qualifying and are scheduled between Tuesday and Thursday at the kickoff times listed above; the outcomes will determine which clubs advance to the next rounds of the qualification process.