THERE could be two all-Ireland pairings in the Europa Conference League play-offs after the latest draw.
Irish League champions Linfield could be set for a repeat all-island tie against their southern counterparts Shelbourne, if both win through their next challenges.
Larne would face the runaway leaders of the Airtricity Premier Division, Shamrock Rovers, if they both progress.
Larne
PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 24-07-2025: UEFA Conference League Second Qualifying Round Larne v Prishtina. LarneÕs Dylan Sloan and PrishtinaÕs Rohan Ferguson pictured in action during Thursday nightÕs game at the Showgrounds in Ballymena. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.
Linfield first must overcome Faroe Islands outfit Vikingur, while Shelbourne face a tougher task, against Croatians HNK Rijeka, with those two-legged ties taking place this week and next.
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Rovers face Ballkani of Kosovo, familiar foes for Larne, who themselves are up against Portuguese team Santa Clara.
Shels won their Champions League qualifying meeting with Linfield 2-1 on aggregate but were then knocked out of that competition 4-0 overall by Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
That means the Dubs are unseeded now, while David Healy’s men are among the seeds in the ‘Champions Path’.
The other Dublin club involved, St Patrick’s Athletic, will be up against FC Lausanne-Sport of Switzerland or Kazakh outfit FC Astana – but only they manage to get past Turkish giants Besiktas, now managed by former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Those play-off ties will take place on consecutive Thursdays, August 21 and 28, with the draw for the Europa Conference League group stages will be on Friday August 29.
Champions path
Hamrun Spartans F.C./Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC vs FC RFS/KuPS KuopioHNK
Rijeka/Shelbourne FC vs Víkingur/Linfield FC
HŠK Zrinjski Mostar/Breiðablik vs FC Milsami Orhei/Virtus A.C. 1964
Fotbal Club FCSB/FC Drita vs FC Differdange 03/FCI Levadia Tallinn
NK Olimpija Ljubljana/KF Egnatia vs Lincoln Red Imps FC/FC Noah
Main path
Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace vs Víkingur Reykjavík/Brøndby
IF Silkeborg IF/Jagiellonia Białystok vs HNK Hajduk Split/FC Dinamo City
Panathinaikos FC/FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs Servette FC/FC Utrecht
RSC Anderlecht/FC Sheriff Tiraspol vs Aris Limassol FC/AEK Athens
FC Viking FK/İstanbul Başakşehir FK vs Universitatea Craiova/FC Spartak Trnava
Crystal Palace FC* vs Fredrikstad FK/FC MidtjyllandFC
Lugano/NK Celje vs FC Baník Ostrava/FK Austria Wien
Raków Częstochowa/Maccabi Haifa FC vs FK Kauno Žalgiris/PFC Arda Kardzhali 1924
FK Partizan Beograd/Hibernian F.C. vs AEK Larnaca FC/Legia Warszawa
PFC Levski Sofia/Sabah FC vs AZ Alkmaar/FC Vaduz
FC Polissya/Paksi FC vs ACF Fiorentina
AIK Stockholm/ETO FC Győr vs SK Rapid/Dundee United
FCKĺ Klaksvík/FC Neman Grodno vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
FC Lausanne-Sport/FC Astana vs **St. Patrick’s Athletic/**Beşiktaş JK
**Larne FC/**CD Santa Clara vs FC Ballkani/Shamrock Rovers FC
Rosenborg BK/Hammarby Fotboll vs 1. FSV Mainz 05
AC Sparta Praha/FC Ararat-Armenia vs Riga FC/Beitar Jerusalem FC
BK Häcken/SK Brann vs CFR 1907 Cluj/SC Braga
PAOK FC/Wolfsberger AC vs Araz-Naxçıvan PFK/Omonoia FC
*The participation of Crystal Palace FC is subject to pending legal proceedings.