Conference League Matchday 1 briefing: Ajax, Monaco, Brighton primed for opening night

Ajax are adding glamour to the UEFA Conference League this season, with Atalanta, Brighton, Getafe and Monaco also gearing up for league phase action on Matchday 1.

Our Conference League preview picks out key matches, top stats and personalities as the new campaign gets under way on Thursday 15 October.

What to look out for

• Ajax can join Chelsea in becoming the second team to win all three of UEFA's current senior men's club competitions this season, but Spanish coach Míchel can expect an awkward opening night in Croatia, where they visit Hajduk Split.

• As they embark on their first league phase campaign in this competition, Monaco face a test at CSKA Sofia, who they have visited twice before and lost on both occasions.

• Spain's Getafe are also Conference League newcomers, and face a novel challenge on Matchday 1 with a first-ever trip to Romania, where they take on a Universitatea Craiova side fresh from winning their fifth national title.

• English clubs have won three of the first five editions of the Conference League, with Brighton hoping to make it four from six this season as they kick off their campaign at home against Lithuania's Kauno Žalgiris.

Viktor Dadason celebrates scoring at the Camp Nou in JanuaryAFP via Getty Images

Player to watch: Viktor Dadason (Copenhagen)

Icelandic forward Dadason became one of the UEFA Champions League's youngest-ever scorers last season, registering the first of three league phase goals for Copenhagen in a 4-2 home loss to Dortmund in October. Still just 18, he is an imposing striker with an excellent conversion rate, as Braga's defenders may discover on Matchday 1.

Felip Ortiz (left) celebrates earning a league phase place with Inter EscaldesNurPhoto via Getty Images

Club in focus: Inter Escaldes

Placed 246th in the UEFA club rankings in the run-up to the league phase draw, Inter Escaldes will break new ground as they take on Mjällby in Sweden, becoming the first club from Andorra to feature in a UEFA men's group stage. Their coach Felipe Ortiz is a former Barcelona trainee, and friend of club great Carles Puyol. Once on the coaching staff at the Camp Nou, he has won Andorran titles in both of his seasons at El Inter.