Champions League: A look at the remaining eight teams

Kairat Almaty welcome Sutjeska Niksic to Almaty Arena in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, with the Kazakh champions looking to build on a remarkable continental rise. Having reached the league phase last season and shared a group with heavyweights like Real Madrid and Arsenal, Kairat now approach this tie in midseason rhythm, sitting near the top of the Kazakhstan Premier League. Their recent domestic schedule has been intense, but productive, and the club’s supporters see this as a chance to confirm that last year’s breakthrough was no one-off.

Form-wise, Kairat arrive in excellent shape, unbeaten in five competitive matches and on a four-game winning streak that has seen them score freely and keep multiple clean sheets. A standout result was the emphatic 5-0 home victory over Okzhetpes, underlining their attacking power and confidence at Ortalyq Stadion. Sutjeska, by contrast, have not yet started their new Montenegrin First League campaign and have instead played a series of friendlies, all ending in defeat, which raises questions about their sharpness heading into this demanding trip to Kazakhstan.

ML Vitebsk’s first-ever UEFA Champions League qualifying tie against Univ. Craiova has become one of the more intriguing stories of the summer. The pairing was confirmed in mid-June in the 2026/27 first qualifying round draw, with the first leg scheduled in Belarus on 8 July and the return match a week later in Romania. Vitebsk arrive with a positive domestic form line—recent results show a sequence of wins, a draw and just one defeat—suggesting a side that has learned how to manage tight games. That momentum, combined with the novelty of continental competition, gives this opening leg a special edge for the Belarusian club.

Univ. Craiova come into this tie on the back of a strong 2025/26 Liga I campaign, where they finished top of the regular season and then led the championship round, earning their path into the Champions League qualifiers. In that title run they navigated demanding clashes against CFR Cluj, Dinamo Bucuresti, Rapid Bucuresti and Arges, showing consistency both home and away. The club’s schedule for July and August 2026 already includes domestic fixtures against sides like Dinamo Bucuresti and Petrolul, underlining how busy this period will be. Even so, the focus in Craiova is clearly on turning their league success into progress on the European stage.

Petrocub Hincesti’s clash with Egnatia Rrogozhinë in the Champions League first qualifying round brings together two domestic champions looking to turn recent success into European momentum. Petrocub have just kicked off their 2026-27 Moldovan Liga campaign in style, beating Dacia Buiucani 2-1 on June 28 and then dismantling Milsami 5-0 on July 4, results that underline their sharpness and attacking confidence. Egnatia, meanwhile, arrive as Albanian champions for the third consecutive season, a remarkable run that has kept them in the spotlight and raised expectations around their European ambitions.

In the last couple of months, Petrocub’s narrative has been about consolidating their domestic dominance and preparing for another shot at Europe after previous campaigns in the Champions League and Conference League. Their recent form includes a 3-0 home win over CSF Bălți, a tight but telling 1-0 victory against Sheriff, and a commanding 3-0 success away to Milsami, all pointing to a side that defends well yet still finds consistent goals. These performances, combined with a settled squad and continuity under coach Shota Makharadze, make Petrocub look more mature and streetwise than in earlier European ventures.