UEFA Conference League PREVIEW 20 Aug 2026: Four Scottish Clubs in the Play-off Round

Twenty-three ties open the Conference League play-off round on Thursday, and eight of the clubs involved come from these islands: Rangers, Hearts, Motherwell and Hibernian from Scotland, Brighton from England, Shamrock Rovers from Ireland, and Lincoln Red Imps against Larne.

Rangers welcome Jablonec to Ibrox, which holds 51,700. The season that still defines the modern side is 2020/21: Rangers won the title with 102 points from an unbeaten 38 games, winning all 19 at home and conceding 13 goals, a British record for a 38-match season.

Hearts host SK Rapid at Tynecastle Park, where they have played since 1886. Since 30 August 2021 the Foundation of Hearts has been the majority shareholder, which makes Hearts the largest fan-owned club in the United Kingdom.

Motherwell's European night at Fir Park against Freiburg belongs to a manager who has already gone. Under Jens Berthel Askou they finished fourth in the Premiership last season with 61 points from 38 games, with only Celtic, Hearts and Rangers above them, and Tawanda Maswanhise scored 17 league goals. Askou left on 21 May for Toulouse; Alfred Johansson was appointed on 18 June and inherits the tie.

Hibernian go to Gent knowing this round exactly. They lost in the Conference League play-off round last season, having dropped into it from the Europa League second qualifying round, and they went out at the same stage in 2023/24. Fifth in the Premiership last season with 57 points took them back into Europe.

Brighton travel to Tromso having reached this round the hard way, finishing eighth in the Premier League last season with 53 points from 14 wins, 11 draws and 13 defeats.

Shamrock Rovers host KuPS with twenty-two League of Ireland titles behind them, a record, the most recent in 2025. As of 9 August they led this year's Premier Division with 54 points from 27 matches, seven clear of St Patrick's Athletic. Graham Burke became the leading Irish goalscorer in European football this month with his sixteenth European goal, passing Robbie Keane.

Lincoln Red Imps host Larne having won six Gibraltarian league titles in a row and a domestic treble last season. Their opponents from the Champions League first qualifying round this summer are also still in this competition: Lincoln beat Inter Club d'Escaldes 3-1 at the Europa Point Stadium on 7 July, and Escaldes go to Drita on Thursday.

The rest of the round: Inter Turku v FC Copenhagen, Midtjylland v Rijeka, Nordsjaelland v St. Gallen, Klaksvik v Caramba/Dinamo Riga, PAOK v Brann, Gornik Zabrze v Monaco, Twente v Qarabag, Vikingur Reykjavik v Borac Banja Luka, Sion v Ajax, Atalanta v Hapoel Tel Aviv, Lugano v Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathinaikos v Hradec Kralove, Braga v Austria Vienna, Dinamo Tirana v Pafos and Hajduk Split v Rakow.