League of Ireland club on cusp of European group stage glory
League of Ireland outfit Shamrock Rovers have the opportunity to secure a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage in North Macedonia tonight (Tuesday, August 9).
Stephen Bradley's side could go one step further than the Europa Conference League (Third tier of European club competition) if they come through tonight's tie. Rovers will face Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan) or Ferencvaros (Hungary) in the UEFA Europa League (Second tier of European club competition) play-off round, knowing a place in the Europa Conference League is guaranteed.
Shamrock Rovers would be the first League of Ireland club to make the group stages of a European club competition since Dundalk - who made the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League group stages.
Meanwhile, St Patrick's Athletic have the opportunity to earn a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round if they can overcome CSKA Sofia at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday. St Pat's have a one goal advantage going into their second leg tie after pulling off an impressive 1-0 away victory in Bulgaria last week.
Sligo Rovers have it all to do in their UEFA Europa Conference League second leg home tie against Viking FK after suffering a 5-1 defeat in Norway last week.
Shamrock Rovers v KF Shkupi will not be live on Irish television tonight but St Patrick's Athletic v CSKA Sofia will be shown live on the RTE News channel, the RTE News Now app and the RTE Player on Thursday.