League PathThe League Path includes all league non-champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds:
- Second qualifying round : 4 teams which enter in this round.
- Third qualifying round : 6 teams which enter in this round, and 2 winners of the second qualifying round.
- Play-off round : 4 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the League Path enter the Europa League:
Below are the participating teams of the League Path, grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours | | Winners of play-off round advance to group stage | | Losers of play-off round and third qualifying round enter Europa League group stage | | Losers of second qualifying round enter Europa League third qualifying round |
FormatEach tie, apart from the preliminary round, is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advance to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out. In the preliminary round, where single-match semi-finals and final are hosted by one of the participating teams, if scores are level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, followed by penalty shoot-out if scores remain tied.
In the draws for each round, teams are seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round is not known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient is to advance, it simply take the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA may not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie may be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
ScheduleThe schedule is as follows.
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg | | Preliminary round | 12 June 2018 | 26 June 2018 | 29 June 2018 | | First qualifying round | 19 June 2018 | 10–11 July 2018 | 17–18 July 2018 | | Second qualifying round | 19 June 2018 | 24–25 July 2018 | 31 July – 1 August 2018 | | Third qualifying round | 23 July 2018 | 7–8 August 2018 | 14 August 2018 | | Play-off round | 6 August 2018 | 21–22 August 2018 | 28–29 August 2018 |
Preliminary roundThe draw for the preliminary round was held on 12 June 2018, 12:00 CEST, to determine the matchups of the semi-finals and the administrative "home" team of each semi-final and final.
SeedingA total of four teams were involved in the preliminary round draw. Two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded for the semi-final round draw.
SummaryThe semi-final round was played on 26 June, and the final round on 29 June 2018, both at the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar.
Semi-final round----
First qualifying roundThe draw for the first qualifying round was held on 19 June 2018, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 32 teams were involved in the first qualifying round draw: 31 teams entering in this round, and the winners of the preliminary round. They were divided into three groups: two of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded, and one of twelve teams, where six teams were seeded and six teams were unseeded.
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SummaryThe first legs were played on 10 and 11 July, and the second legs on 17 and 18 July 2018.
MatchesSheriff Tiraspol won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Shkëndija won 5–4 on aggregate.
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Sūduva won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Qarabağ won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Vidi won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Malmö FF won 5–0 on aggregate.
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HJK won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Ludogorets Razgrad won 9–0 on aggregate.
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Legia Warsaw won 4–0 on aggregate.
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Rosenborg won 3–2 on aggregate.
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1–1 on aggregate; Kukësi won on away goals.
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Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Red Star Belgrade won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Celtic won 6–0 on aggregate.
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Spartak Trnava won 2–1 on aggregate.
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''Astana won 3–0 on aggregate.''
Second qualifying roundThe draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2018, 14:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 24 teams were involved in the second qualifying round draw.
- Champions Path: four teams entering in this round, and the 16 winners of the first qualifying round. They were divided into two groups of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded.
- League Path: four teams entering in this round. Two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded.
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SummaryThe first legs were played on 24 and 25 July, and the second legs on 31 July and 1 August 2018.
Champions Path matchesAstana won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Vidi won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Qarabağ won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Malmö FF won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Dinamo Zagreb won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Red Star Belgrade won 5–0 on aggregate.
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BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Shkëndija won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Spartak Trnava won 2–1 on aggregate.
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''Celtic won 3–1 on aggregate.''
League Path matchesPAOK won 5–1 on aggregate.
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''Ajax won 5–1 on aggregate.''
Third qualifying roundThe draw for the third qualifying round was held on 23 July 2018, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 20 teams were involved in the third qualifying round draw.
- Champions Path: two teams entering in this round, and the 10 winners of the second qualifying round Champions Path. Six teams were seeded and six teams were unseeded.
- League Path: six teams entering in this round, and the two winners of the second qualifying round League Path. Four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded. Teams from Ukraine and Russia could not be drawn into the same tie, and if such a pairing was drawn or was set to be drawn in the final tie, the second team drawn in the current tie would be moved to the next tie.
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SummaryThe first legs were played on 7 and 8 August, and the second legs on 14 August 2018.
Champions Path matchesAEK Athens won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Red Bull Salzburg won 4–0 on aggregate.
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Red Star Belgrade won 3–2 on aggregate.
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BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Dinamo Zagreb won 3–0 on aggregate.
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''1–1 on aggregate; Vidi won on away goals.''
League Path matchesAjax won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Benfica won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Dynamo Kyiv won 3–1 on aggregate.
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''PAOK won 3–2 on aggregate.''
Play-off roundThe draw for the play-off round was held on 6 August 2018, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 12 teams were involved in the play-off round draw.
- Champions Path: two teams entering in this round, and the six winners of the third qualifying round Champions Path. Four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded.
- League Path: the four winners of the third qualifying round League Path. Two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded. Teams from Ukraine and Russia could not be drawn into the same tie, and to prevent such a potential pairing, the four teams were divided into two pairings prior to the draw.
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SummaryThe first legs were played on 21 and 22 August, and the second legs on 28 and 29 August 2018.
Champions Path matches2–2 on aggregate; Red Star Belgrade won on away goals.
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PSV Eindhoven won 6–2 on aggregate.
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Young Boys won 3–2 on aggregate.
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''AEK Athens won 3–2 on aggregate.''
League Path matchesBenfica won 5–2 on aggregate.
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''Ajax won 3–1 on aggregate.''
Top goalscorersThere were 211 goals scored in 91 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of goals per match.
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