The Champions Path included all league champions which were eliminated from the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Champions League, and consisted of the following rounds:
Third qualifying round (20 teams): 10 teams which entered in this round (losers of the Champions League second qualifying round), and 10 winners of the second qualifying round (including 1 team which receives a bye).
Play-off round (16 teams): 6 teams which entered in this round (losers of the Champions League third qualifying round), and 10 winners of the third qualifying round.
The Main Path included all cup winners and league non-champions which did not qualify directly for the group stage, and consisted of the following rounds:
Preliminary round (14 teams): 14 teams which entered in this round.
First qualifying round (94 teams): 87 teams which entered in this round, and 7 winners of the preliminary round.
Second qualifying round (74 teams): 27 teams which entered in this round, and 47 winners of the first qualifying round.
CL Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (League Path).
Format
Each tie 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.[3]
For the Champions Path, in the draws for each round, teams (whose identity is not known at the time of the draws) are divided into seeded and unseeded pots, which may contain different numbers of teams, based on the following principles:
In the second qualifying round draw, 15 of the 16 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round are seeded, and the three losers of the Champions League preliminary round are unseeded, with the remaining losers of the Champions League first qualifying round given a bye to the third qualifying round as decided by an additional draw held after the Champions League first qualifying round draw.
In the third qualifying round draw, the ten losers of the Champions League second qualifying round are seeded, and the ten winners of the second qualifying round (including the team given a bye to the third qualifying round, whose identity is known at the time of the draw) are unseeded.
In the play-off round draw, the six losers of the Champions League third qualifying round are seeded, and the ten winners of the third qualifying round are unseeded.
In the beginning of the draws, a seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw, until one of the pots is empty. Afterwards, the remaining teams from the non-empty pot are drawn against each other, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw.
For the Main Path, 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.[3]
Schedule
The schedule was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).[1]
Qualifying phase and play-off round schedule
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary round
12 June 2018
28 June 2018
5 July 2018
First qualifying round
19 June 2018 (Champions Path) 20 June 2018 (Main Path)
12 July 2018
19 July 2018
Second qualifying round
26 July 2018
2 August 2018
Third qualifying round
23 July 2018
9 August 2018
16 August 2018
Play-off round
6 August 2018
23 August 2018
30 August 2018
Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 12 June 2018, 13:00 CEST.[6]
Seeding
A total of 14 teams were involved in the preliminary round draw. Seven teams were seeded and seven teams were unseeded. Teams from the same association 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.
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 20 June 2018, 12:00 CEST.[10]
Seeding
A total of 94 teams were involved in the first qualifying round draw: 87 teams entering in this round, and the seven winners of the preliminary round. They were divided into nine groups: seven of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded, and two of twelve teams, where six teams were seeded and six teams were unseeded. Numbers were pre-assigned for each team by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and one run for all groups with twelve teams.
† Winners of the preliminary round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 10, 11 and 12 July, and the second legs on 17, 18 and 19 July 2018.
The draw for the second qualifying round Champions Path was held on 19 June 2018, 16:00 CEST,[5] and the draw for the second qualifying round Main Path was held on 20 June 2018, 14:50 CEST.[10]
Seeding
A total of 18 teams were involved in the second qualifying round Champions Path draw.
Seeded: 15 of the 16 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round (excluding the losers of the Champions League first qualifying round given a bye to the third qualifying round as decided by an additional draw held after the Champions League first qualifying round draw)
Unseeded: the three losers of the Champions League preliminary round
They were divided into three groups of six teams, where five teams were seeded and one team were unseeded. Teams from Serbia and Kosovo, and Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo, could not be drawn into the same tie, and if such a potential pairing was drawn, the second team drawn in the current tie would be moved to the next tie.
A total of 74 teams were involved in the second qualifying round Main Path draw: 27 teams entering in this round, and the 47 winners of the first qualifying round. They were divided into seven groups: five of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded, and two of twelve teams, where six teams were seeded and six teams were unseeded. Numbers were pre-assigned for each team by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and one run for all groups with twelve teams.
† Winners of the first qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 26 July, and the second legs on 31 July, 1 and 2 August 2018.
The draw for the third qualifying round Champions Path was held on 23 July 2018, 12:45 CEST, and the draw for the third qualifying round Main Path was held on 23 July 2018, 14:00 CEST.[17]
Seeding
A total of 20 teams were involved in the third qualifying round Champions Path draw.
Seeded: the 10 losers of the Champions League second qualifying round Champions Path
Unseeded: the 10 winners of the Europa League second qualifying round Champions Path (including the team which received a bye)
They were divided into two groups of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded.
A total of 52 teams were involved in the third qualifying round Main Path draw: 13 teams entering in this round, the 37 winners of the second qualifying round Main Path, and the two Champions League losers of the second qualifying round League Path. They were divided into five groups: four 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. Numbers were pre-assigned for each team by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and one run for all groups with twelve teams.
† Winners of the second qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
CL Losers of the Champions League second qualifying round. Teams in italics lost to a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 7 and 9 August, and the second legs on 16 August 2018.
A total of 26 teams, all winners of the third qualifying round Main Path, were involved in the play-off round Main Path draw. They were divided into three groups: two of eight teams, where four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded, and one of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded. Numbers were pre-assigned for each team by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with eight teams and one run for all groups with ten teams.
† Winners of the third qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 23 August, and the second legs on 30 August 2018.
Prishtina
Gżira United
Folgore
Bala Town
Trakai
Nõmme Kalju
Slavia Sofia
Molde
Dinamo Tbilisi
Apollon Limassol
Domžale
Shkupi
Viitorul Constanța
Tobol
Újpest
Dinamo Minsk
Zaria Bǎlți
AIK
Nordsjælland
Osijek
Maccabi Tel Aviv
AZ
Burnley
Admira Wacker Mödling
Sparta Prague
Rio Ave
Beşiktaş
Bordeaux
Atromitos
Mariupol
Adeleke Akinyemi
Mbwana Samatta