Linfield v Shelbourne: All square at half time in all-Ireland Champions League clash with Dubliners ahead on aggregate
League of Ireland champions Shelbourne have a lead to defend in the second leg of their Champions League first round tie against Irish League winners Linfield.
Kick-off in Belfast is 7.45pm and you can follow all the action as it happens in our liveblog below.
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Irish Times
34 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Shelbourne learn potential opponents as they chase lucrative qualification for European group stages
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. READ MORE 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. 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. 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 Nomme Kalju from Estonia. The third-round ties are on August 5th or 6th and 12th.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Shelbourne learn possible third round Champions Lge tie
The winner of the second round Champions League qualifying tie between Shelbourne and Qarabag will take face Romanian side FCSB or Macedonian outfit KF Shkendija in the next round. The draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon this morning, ahead of Joey O'Brien's side hoping to cause a big upset to overcome the Azerbaijani side. The Reds begin their second round tie at Tolka Park on Wednesday before travelling to Baku next week. FCSB are the modern equivalent of Steaua Bucuresti, having changed name due to ownership issues, and would be favourites to progress to round three. They reached the last 16 of last year's Europa League before losing to Lyon. Ironically Shels came close to drawing FCSB in the first round, but were instead paired with Linfield. Shels will also have a keen eye on the Europa League draw at 12pm which will inform them of a possible opponent should they lose to Qarabag. Elsewhere Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic will be in the third round draw of the Conference League at 1pm . The Hoops are in Gibraltar this week to take on St Joseph's in the second round, while Pat's are at home to Estonian outfit Nomme JK Kalju.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shelbourne discover potential third round opponents in Champions League
Shelbourne will go into Wednesday's Champions League clash against Qarabag with a clear vision of their next steps in the competition, were they to progress. The winner of the second qualifying round tie will face Romanian or Macedonian opposition in the third round, following today's draw at UEFA headquarters. Football Club FCSB (previously known as Steaua Bucharest) or KF Shkëndija meet each other in the second round, with the winner progressing to face Shels or Qarabag. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . League of Ireland champions Shelbourne - who knocked out Linfield in last week's first round - will have it all to do against Qarabag, the kingpins of Azerbaijan. The Reds won't shirk the challenge but are the big underdogs going into Wednesday's first-leg at Tolka Park, and next week's game in Azerbaijan. If Shelbourne were to lose over two legs, they would drop into the Europa League and will discover their potential opponents when that draw is made in the next hour. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
