St. Gallen have been drawn against attractive opponents for the league phase of the Conference League. In this respect, the draw is less kind to Lugano.
St. Gallen's opponent from pot 1 is Serie A club Fiorentina, against whom the eastern Swiss side will play at home. The two-time Italian champions reached the final of the Conference League in 2023. Coach Enrico Maassen's team were drawn against Heidenheim from the second pot. The Germans, who play St. Gallen at home, were promoted to the Bundesliga a year ago and finished their first season in a surprising 8th place.
Vitoria Guimarães is another tough opponent for St. Gallen. The Portuguese side eliminated FC Zurich in the third qualifying round for the Conference League. The team from eastern Switzerland will also face Cercle Brugge, the Serbs from Backa Topola and Larne from Northern Ireland.
Lugano were drawn against Belgian side Gent from Pot 1 and Poland's Legia Warsaw from Pot 2. The other opponents are: HJK Helsinki, the Czech team Mlada Boleslav, Backa Topola and Pafos from Cyprus.
Top duels in the Conference League at a glance
- St.Gallen: Fiorentina, Heidenheim, Vitória de Guimarães, Cercle Brugge, TSC Backa Topola, Larne
- Lugano: Ghent, Legia Warsaw, HJK Helsinki, Mladá Boleslav, TSC Backa Topola, Pafos
- Chelsea: Ghent, Heidenheim, Astana, Shamrock Rovers, Panathinaikos, Noah
- Copenhagen: Real Betis, Başakşehir, Rapid Vienna, Hearts, Jagiellonia, Dynamo Minsk
- Ghent: Chelsea, Molde, Omonoia Nicosia, Lugano, TSC Backa Topola, Larne FC
- Fiorentina: LASK, Apoel, Vitoria SC, The New Saints, St.Gallen, Pafos
- LASK: Fiorentina, Djurgardens IF, Olimpija Ljubljana, Cercle Brugge, Borac Banja Luka, Vikingur Reykjavík
- Real Betis: Copenhagen, Legia Warsaw, HJK Helsinki,v, Petrocub, Celje
- Click here for an overview of all pairings
The opponents of St.Gallen and Lugano
The Conference League draw pots
- Pot 1: Chelsea FC (England), FC Copenhagen (Denmark), KAA Gent (Belgium), AC Florence (Italy), Linzer ASK (Austria), Betis Sevilla (Spain)
- Pot 2: Başakşehir (Turkey), Molde FK (Norway), Legia Warsaw (Poland), 1. FC Heidenheim (Germany), Djurgardens IF (Sweden), Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus)
- Pot 3: Rapid Vienna (Austria), Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus), HJK Helsinki (Finland), Vitória de Guimarães (Portugal), FK Astana (Kazakhstan), Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- Pot 4: Cercle Brugge (Belgium), Shamrock Rovers (Ireland), The New Saints (Wales), FC Lugano (Switzerland), Heart of Midlothian (Scotland), Mladá Boleslav (Czech Republic)
- Pot 5: Petrocub Hîncești (Moldova), FC St. Gallen (Switzerland), Panathinaikos Athens (Greece), TSC Backa Topola (Serbia), Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Jagiellonia Białystok (Poland)
- Pot 6: NK Celje (Slovenia), Larne FC (Northern Ireland), Dinamo Minsk (Belarus), FC Pafos (Cyprus), Víkingur Reykjavík (Iceland), Noah (Armenia)
How does the new format work?
In all three competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League), the top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16. The teams in ninth to 24th place compete in play-off duels with a first and second leg, the winners of which qualify for the round of 16. From the round of 16 onwards, the competition will continue in the familiar manner until the final.
The biggest change in all three competitions concerns the group stage, which will become a single league phase with 36 teams. In the Champions League and Europa League, each team will face eight different teams (four at home, four away). In the Conference League, each club will play six different teams (three at home, three away).
For the teams that finish 25th or lower in the league phase of all three competitions, the European Cup season is over this year.
