UEFA Conference League knockout phase play-offs: What to look out for

Sixteen teams begin their quest to seal one of the eight remaining spots in the UEFA Conference League round of 16 as the knockout phase play-offs kick off on Thursday 19 February.

We take a look at the key storylines ahead of the first legs.

Kick-off times are 21:00 CET unless stated.

First-leg fixtures: Thursday 19 February

Noah vs AZ Alkmaar (18:45 CET)
Zrinjski vs Crystal Palace (18:45 CET)
KuPS Kuopio vs Lech Poznań (18:45 CET)
Sigma Olomouc vs Lausanne-Sport (18:45 CET)
Drita vs Celje
Jagiellonia vs Fiorentina
Shkëndija vs Samsunspor
Omonoia vs Rijeka

History-makers want more

Participating in the knockout phase play-offs represents a historic step for Drita, KuPS Kuopio, Noah and Shkëndija, who became the first clubs from their respective nations of Kosovo, Finland, Armenia and North Macedonia to advance from the league phase/group stage of a senior men's European competition.

A further two teams achieved progress on their league phase/group stage debut in a European competition – English side Crystal Palace and Türkiye's Samsunspor – with both now embracing the opportunity to write further history. "We want to continue as far as possible; we are having so much fun," said Samsunspor representative Mustafa Aztopal after the draw.

Running it back

Four knockout phase play-off contenders featured in the knockout phase of last season's competition: Fiorentina, Jagiellonia, Celje and Omonoia.

Fiorentina, who travel to Bialystok to face Jagiellonia, have twice reached the final of this competition and again reached the business end last season – only missing out on a third showpiece after a narrow semi-final loss to Real Betis. They will be wary of Jagiellonia, though, with the Polish club winning a play-off and round of 16 tie before also falling to Betis last term.

Celje were another of last season's quarter-finalists, securing progress to the last eight after squeezing past Lugano in a thrilling round of 16 tie. Omonoia, meanwhile, will hope for improved fortunes after suffering play-off elimination last season against compatriots Pafos.

First impressions

New acquaintances will be made in the knockout phase play-offs, with only one pairing – Rijeka and Omonoia – having met in UEFA competition previously. The Cypriot side got the better of their first qualifying round tie in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup, winning 4-3 on aggregate as Musa Mguni struck a late winner in the second leg. Can we expect similar drama nearly 20 years on?

Also hoping to make a positive first impression are some of the January signings who were added to Conference League squads for the knockout phase. Crystal Palace are of particular interest. The Eagles lost captain Marc Guéhi in defence but bolstered their attack with Norwegian forward Jørgen Strand Larsen and Wales international Brennan Johnson, who knows all about delivering European success after scoring the winner in last season's Europa League final.