St. Gallen have been drawn against attractive opponents for the conference league phase. In this respect, the draw is less kind to Lugano.
St. Gallen's opponent from pot 1 is Serie A club Fiorentina, against whom the eastern Swiss side will play at home. The two-time Italian champions reached the final of the Conference League in 2023. Coach Enrico Enrico Maassen's team were drawn against Heidenheim from the second pot. The Germans, who play at home against St. Gallen, were promoted to the Bundesliga a year ago and finished their first season in a surprising 8th place.
Vitoria Guimarães is another tough opponent for St. Gallen. The Portuguese side eliminated FC Zurich in the third qualifying round for the Conference League. The team from eastern Switzerland will also face Cercle Brugge, the Serbs from Backa Topola and Larne from Northern Ireland.
Lugano were drawn against Belgian side Gent from pot 1 and Poland's Legia Warsaw from pot 2. The other opponents are: HJK Helsinki, the Czech team Mlada Boleslav, Backa Topola and Pafos from Cyprus.
SDA
