If Shelbourne can progress past Qarabag of Azerbaijan they will face the winners of Steaua Bucharest and KF Shkëndija of North Macedonia in the Champions League third round.
Joey O’Brien’s team welcome Qarabag to Tolka Park on Wednesday for the second round, first leg against Gurban Gurbanov’s seasoned European squad. The second leg is in Baku on Wednesday week.
If Shelbourne are beaten over two legs they will be rerouted to the Europa League third round – against the losers of HNK Rijeka (Croatia) and Ludogorets (Bulgaria) – with a guaranteed playoff, either in Uefa’s second tier competition or the Conference League, to secure group stage football this season.
The 36 clubs that qualify for the Champions League group stage are guaranteed €18.62 million in prize money. Shels would need to overcome Qarabag, a round-three opponent and win a two-legged playoff to land that massive pay-day.
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That figure drops to €4.31 million for reaching the Europa League proper, while the 36 Conference League sides get €3.17 million before win and draw bonuses.
Shels’ first-round victory over Northern Ireland champions Linfield last week earned the north Dublin club €750,000, on top of €960,000 already secured from Uefa’s prize money pot of €3.317 billion.
The visit of Qarabag is the last match that they can host at Tolka Park as Uefa stadium criteria will force a move to Tallaght Stadium or the Aviva Stadium for their two remaining home qualifiers.
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Shamrock Rovers hope to make the Conference League group stages for the third time since 2022 when they begin their European campaign away to St Joseph’s of Gibraltar on Thursday. The second leg is in Tallaght seven days later.
If Rovers progress, Stephen Bradley’s side face the winners of Ballkani (Kosovo) and Floriana (Malta) in the third round.
St Patrick’s Athletic also play their last European game at Richmond Park on Thursday in the Conference League second round, first-leg qualifier against Nõmme Kalju from Estonia.
If they come through that, Stephen Kenny’s men must overcome the winner of Besiktas (Turkey) and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) to reach a playoff for the group stage. The first leg would be in Dublin on August 7th.
