The Weekly Coefficient Preview - Week 3

All three competitions this week, with three Scottish teams playing on Thursday

Scottish European Qualifying Matches results 2025/26 = 
20/20 matches played: 5 wins + 8 draws + 7 losses

Scottish European League Phase Matches counter 2025/26 = 
5/22 matches played: 0 wins + 1 draw + 4 losses

THE EUROPEAN ENTRY POINTS

The Scottish Premiership looks a much more enjoyable watch this season than the European competitions, given the poor start from all three sides in UEFA competition. We’ve had five league phase matches involving Scottish teams, which have resulted in no wins and four losses as we’ve watched several rival nations pull further ahead of us.

Scotland’s Coefficient for season 2025/26. We’ve only added 2 points so far, with Celtic adding anything in the league phase, after the 1-1 draw away to Partizan Belgrade. Dundee United are still the top contributors.

The performance has us as the joint 40th best performing nation out of 54 nations in the coefficient rankings for this season so far; level with Andorra and Latvia.

For those that missed it, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the European entry points on offer at the end of this season - and why this season’s reward will be as good as it gets for the Champions of Scotland - whoever that may be.

The European entry points on offer at the end of this season, based on the current league table. This example assumes the Scottish Cup winner also finishes 1st or 2nd; click the above article to see how that changes if they finish outside the top 2.

As for the European campaigns, it’s a crucial week for the coefficient this week - but when is it not. If Rangers lose the early kick off in Norway then - based on the teams that lost three opening games last season - it likely spells total elimination in the league phase. Later on Thursday, Celtic host the Austrian champions at Celtic Park. Sturm Graz weren’t particularly impressive against Rangers, despite recording a deserved 2-1 home victory 3 weeks ago. However Celtic are in as poor form as they've been for years, and so will be heading into the match low on confidence, in front of a home crowd which is largely steeped in apathy.

Austria are a key rival in the battle to finish in the top 15 and so if Graz record a second victory over a Glasgow side this month then we can say with near certainty that the coefficient race is done for this year. Any points we earn in the rest of the season would then be with a view to improving our chances in subsequent seasons.

The consequence of the coefficient drop would be felt in 18 months time, i.e. how we finish in the rankings THIS season, affects the European entry points awarded at the END OF NEXT season (i.e. the qualifiers in summer 2027)

If, as expected, Scotland finish outside the top 15, then the entry points for the four (not five) Scottish teams for qualifiers in summer 2027 would be: