As four Scottish representatives gear up to play for a place in Europe’s third tier of competition, let’s take a look at who stands in their way from reaching the league phase for this season.
Hibernian vs KAA Gent
The Belgian outfit gained a Conference League place by finishing fifth in the Belgian Pro League last season, they entered the competition at the same stage as Hibs, the second qualifying round and after defeating Ukraine’s LNZ Cherkasy 4-2 on penalties after two 0-0 draws over two legs and then winning 2-1 on aggregate against Sweden’s Göteborg they now face Hibs. They also have two wins from two at the start of this season’s Belgian Pro League.
A player to look out for is Algerian international Abdelkahar Kadri, the creative midfielder who can pick a defence splitting pass and quickly has defenders on the back foot as he finds teammates in the final third to give them opportunities to score.
Hearts vs Rapid Vienna
Across Edinburgh, Hearts face Austrian opposition for the second time this season after they faced Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifiers earlier on this season. Rapid Vienna finished fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga last season and got through two rounds of qualifying to get here in quite convincing style. A 9-3 aggregate victory against Andorra’s FC Santa Coloma and a 6-1 aggregate score against Estonia’s Paide Linnameeskond. They also sit top of this season’s Austrian Bundesliga with three wins from three which includes last weekend’s 8-0 thrashing of Grazer AK.
The player to look out for here is 31-year-old striker Tonni Adamsen, the Dane scored four at the weekend in the 8-0 win and will look to do more damage to the Hearts backline which has looked fragile in European competition so far.
Motherwell vs SC Freiburg
The Steelmen have the most mouth-watering tie of any of the Scottish clubs as they face Germany’s Freiburg who were beaten Europa League finalists last season after losing to Aston Villa. They finished seventh in last season’s Bundesliga in Germany to get to this stage and this is their only qualifying tie they face as they automatically got into the play-offs. The new Bundesliga season doesn’t start until the 30th August, however a noticeable pre-season result was a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace last weekend.
The player to look out for is Italian international Vincenzo Grifo, the 33-year-old primarily plays left wing but can play centrally and scored seven league goals and five Europa League goals last season, Freiburg have him and various other dangerous players that Motherwell will need to keep an eye on.
Rangers vs FK Jablonec
Rangers have to contend with Czech side FK Jablonec if they’re to have European football at Ibrox this season. They finished fifth in the Czech First League last season and have won two qualifying ties before this. They sneaked past Croatia’s Varaždin 4-3 on aggregate and then they beat Latvia’s RFS 4-1 on aggregate to set up the tie against the Gers. They currently sit second in the Czech First league with three wins from three as well.
A player to look out for is right-back Martin Cedidla, the epitome of an attacking full back has scored three goals this season in seven games and has one assist too. Rangers’ left side will need to be wary of his attacking play in order to protect their weak central defence.