Reigning Veikkausliiga champions KuPS take on FC Milsami in the first leg of this Champions League qualifier. Milsami will make the trip from Moldova for this game with both sides currently in the middle of their domestic campaigns which puts a slightly different twist on this fixture compared to the majority of the other qualifiers.

KuPS currently sit second in the Veikkausliiga as they attempt to defend their title, they’ve won nine of their 16 games this season and have managed to score 27 goals across these games. They come into this first leg unbeaten in their last four matches, winning two of these games.

Milsami have only played three games this term as the Super Liga is still in its very early stages of the season. They’ve won two of these games but notably lost against FC Sheriff last time out which would suggest that they’re just below the level required here to get through this first stage of qualifying.

Noah have the opportunity to establish a commanding lead here in the first leg of this Champions League qualifier against Buducnost. Noah hail from Armenia and took part in their first-ever European campaign during the 24/25 season, playing in the Conference League. They didn’t manage to get past the group stages but that experience will have helped them when it comes to these sort of games.

Noah finished top of the Armenian Premier League during the 24/25 campaign, scoring 92 goals across their 30 games, winning 24 of these encounters which shows their dominance in their domestic division. Buducnost make the trip from Montenegro for this game, they also finished top of their domestic league but this isn’t as competitive as the Armenian Premier League with just 10 sides in the division. 

Noah have more relevant and recent experience in European football than Buducnost who are taking part in their first Champions League qualifying campaign since 2022. Recent European experience and home advantage should tip the scales in Noah’s favour here.

Olimpija Ljubljana have steadily increased their stock in Europe over the last few seasons having competed in each of the last two editions of the Conference League. These experiences will help them in their quest to try and secure a spot in the Champions League next term and they have a pretty fortunate draw here to get them underway.

Kairat hail from Kazakhstan and are currently in the middle of their regular season. They sit second in the Premier League, having won 11 of their 16 games which is a pretty impressive record but the quality of the league is not the best. Unlike Olimpija, Kairat have almost no recent experience in European competitions - the last time they were in qualifying for the Champions League was back in 2022 and they were knocked out in the first round. 

Bosnian-based side Zrinjski Mostar kick off their Champions League qualifying campaign with a pretty fortunate draw against Virtus Acquaviva who have a a really poor record in attempting to qualify for the Champions League.

Virtus lost 11-1 over two legs against FCSB in attempting to qualify for the Champions League in 2024 and also fell to a 5-2 defeat to Flora Tallin in trying to reach the Conference League. It’s clear that Virtus aren’t quite at the level yet to compete in European competition which should make this quite straightforward for Mostar.

Zrinjski Mostar are the Bosnian Premier League champions having won 26 of their 33 games during the 24/25 campaign. They scored 74 goals across these fixtures and only conceded 17, they have also been involved in these qualifiers for the last few years so have more experience than Virtus in this environment.

This could be a really tight tie here across the two legs but Egnatia will have to make the most of home advantage here against a Breidablik side who are regulars in Champions League and European qualifying.

Egnatia hail from Albania and battled very hard to reach this qualifying stage, they won the Kategoria Superiore in the 24/25 season by only two points - scoring 47 goals and conceding 30 across their 36 games in the division. Breidablik travel from Iceland and will be looking to improve on their performance in the qualifiers from last season.

Breidablik are currently in the middle of their season which may give them a slight fitness advantage here. They’ve seen BTTS in four of their last five matches, including in each of the last three games.