Celtic face LASK, Brighton draw European play-off routes
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- Celtic drew Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off, hosting the first leg on August 18/19 with the return on August 25/26, and would drop into the Europa League league phase if eliminated
- Brighton, who finished eighth in the Premier League last season, will face the winner of CFR Cluj vs Tromsø in the Conference League play-off, with the second leg at home on August 27 between Premier League fixtures
- Rangers must first beat Jagiellonia Bialystok in third-round qualifying before facing Northern Irish champions Larne or Iberia 1999 of Georgia in the Europa League play-off
- Hearts dropped into the Europa League after their Champions League exit and will play AGF Aarhus or Sabah in the play-off if they beat Benfica in the third round, with the first leg at Tynecastle on August 20
- Motherwell would face Bundesliga club Freiburg — last season's Europa League finalists — in the Conference League play-off if they beat HJK Helsinki in the third qualifying round
- Hibernian are drawn against IFK Gothenburg or Gent in the Conference League play-off if they overcome KF Shkendija, with the second leg on August 13
- Both Rangers and Hearts requested that domestic league games between potential play-off legs be postponed, meaning fixtures against St Mirren and Falkirk are to be rearranged
Why it matters: Seven British clubs now navigate multi-round qualifying paths across three UEFA competitions through late August, with losers at each tier dropping down rather than exiting entirely — a safety-net structure that keeps continental football alive for all participants. Motherwell's potential tie against Freiburg represents the toughest matchup among the group, pitting a Scottish club against last season's Europa League finalists.
