There will be some familiar faces involved in this week\u2019s European qualifiers as a number of smaller clubs have a chance to make their mark<\/p>\n
Fenerbahce v Lyon, Tuesday 8pm
\n Romelu Lukaku is the latest familiar face to rock up at Fenerbahce. The 33-year-old striker is, however, unlikely to be fit for Lyon\u2019s visit to Istanbul on Tuesday \u2013 he sat out Saturday\u2019s 2-1 defeat to Genclerbirligi, the club his father played for in the 1990s. \u201cThis beautiful country is a second home to me,\u201d Lukaku, who spent part of his childhood in Turkey, said last week. Fenerbahce have also added Mason Greenwood and Nathan Ak\u00e9 to a squad that includes Ederson, N\u2019Golo Kant\u00e9 and Marco Asensio. Failure to get past Lyon, who are aiming to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in 2019-20, would not be the best start to Ismail Kartal\u2019s fourth spell as head coach.<\/p>\n
Celtic v LASK, Wednesday 8pmEven before seeing Rangers and Hearts suffer damaging qualifying defeats this summer, Celtic would have needed no reminding of how much jeopardy these ties contain. Kairat Almaty dumped Brendan Rodgers\u2019 side out at this stage last season on penalties after two goalless draws. \u201cThey are big games in every aspect \u2026 prestige, finance,\u201d said Martin O\u2019Neill, who will have grim memories of his own defeat to Basel in the playoffs 24 years ago. In both legs against LASK, the Austrian champions, Celtic will have to do without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as the midfielder serves a three-match ban for a red card he received playing for Besiktas in the Conference League in 2023.<\/p>\n
Trabzonspor v Ferencvaros, Thursday 6pmMohamed Salah could make his home debut for Trabzonspor when they take on Ferencvaros in Turkey. The former Liverpool forward came off the bench \u2013 along with Cape Verde\u2019s Sidny Lopes Cabral \u2013 in the second half of Saturday\u2019s 1-1 draw with Kasimpasa. Ferencvaros will not be overawed by the occasion, with a glamour friendly against Real Madrid in Budapest part of their pre-season preparations. Among the ranks of last season\u2019s Hungarian Cup winners, who replaced Robbie Keane with Balazs Borbely in the dugout this summer, is Salah\u2019s former Liverpool teammate Naby Ke\u00efta. They have been to Serbia, the Netherlands and Poland in three rounds of Europa League qualifying so far.<\/p>\n
Egnatia v Lillestr\u00f8m, Thursday 6pmHans Erik \u00d8degaard, father of Arsenal\u2019s Premier League-winning captain Martin, has been working miracles in his two years in charge of Lillestr\u00f8m. After being appointed head coach following the Norwegian side\u2019s relegation in 2024, he oversaw their immediate return to the top flight unbeaten and won the Norwegian Cup in the process. \u00d8degaard, who coached in Real Madrid\u2019s academy after his son\u2019s move there in 2015, will lead Lillestr\u00f8m into their first European main draw since the Uefa Cup in 2000-01 as defeat would still guarantee them a Conference League place. Egnatia are the Albanian champions from the past three years and overturned a 3-1 deficit to Shamrock Rovers in the previous round.<\/p>\n
Troms\u00f8 v Brighton, Thursday 6pmSussex is officially in drought but Brighton supporters will have to dig out their coats if they are making the trip to Europe\u2019s most northern football club. It is forecast to be 13C and raining by the time Fabian H\u00fcrzeler\u2019s side kick off in Troms\u00f8, situated over 200 miles into the Arctic Circle. J\u00f8rgen Vik\u2019s team have dropped down from Europa League qualifying but are looking to make the most of home advantage against Premier League opposition. \u201cFacing our style of play on artificial turf could potentially come as a shock to them,\u201d said Vik. Troms\u00f8 and Lillestr\u00f8m are two of five Eliteserien teams involved in European playoffs this week. \u201cThere is a great deal of confidence in Norwegian football right now,\u201d said Vik.<\/p>\n
Drita v Inter Club d\u2019Escaldes, Thursday 7pmSince winning their first Andorran league title in 2020, Inter Club d\u2019Escaldes, who wear black and blue stripes like the Italian Inter, have fallen short in six European qualifying campaigns, but this is the first time they have been one round away. Inter are coached by Felip Ortiz, a former goalkeeper who shared a flat with Carles Puyol when they were teenagers at Barcelona, and they will be no pushovers having put six without reply past Flora Tallinn in the previous round. Drita, the reigning champions of Kosovo who reached the knockout stage of last season\u2019s Conference League, stand in Inter\u2019s way of making history.<\/p>\n