Conference League league phase reaches matchday 3 with Getafe hosting Brighton
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The gist
Brighton, on four points and four clean sheets in Europe, visit 30th-placed Getafe in Conference League matchday 3.
The 36-team league phase runs to Dec 17, with every point shaping who advances.
Background
The UEFA Conference League is European club football's third-tier competition, and its 2026/27 edition is being played in a single 36-team league phase. Brighton & Hove Albion, the English club coached by Fabian Hürzeler, have four points from two matches; Getafe CF, the Spanish side coached by José Bordalás, are in their first-ever Conference League campaign and sit 30th of 36 with one point. UEFA has published a guide to all 36 teams as the league phase unfolds.
How it unfolded
- Oct 15, 2026League phase opened: Brighton beat Kauno Žalgiris 4-0, Universitatea Craiova drew 1-1 with Getafe, Freiburg beat Jablonec 3-2 and CSKA Sofia lost 1-2 to Monaco.
- Oct 22, 2026Getafe lost 2-5 at home to Lugano, Jablonec drew 0-0 with Brighton, Trabzonspor beat Hearts 2-0 and Thun lost 0-1 to Hajduk Split.
- Oct 31, 2026UEFA published its guide to the 36 teams in the 2026/27 league phase.
- Nov 1, 2026Getafe beat Sevilla 3-1 in La Liga, Brighton won 0-1 at Manchester City, Thun beat Lausanne-Sport 4-5 and Hearts lost 1-2 to Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup.
- Nov 2, 2026Atalanta lost 0-3 at home to Parma in Serie A ahead of their Conference League fixture.
- Nov 5, 2026Matchday 3 fixtures include Getafe vs Brighton, Thun vs Hearts, Trabzonspor vs Freiburg, Atalanta vs Kairat and Panathinaikos vs CSKA Sofia.
- Dec 10, 2026Matchday 5 is scheduled, including Brighton vs Monaco and Getafe vs Inter Escaldes.
- Dec 17, 2026The league phase is scheduled to end.
Key terms
- league phase
- An annual European club football competition organized by UEFA since 2021, ranking as the third tier below the Europa League and Champions League.
- clean sheets
- In team sports, a game in which the losing team fails to score, often credited to effective defense.
- La Liga
- Professional association football league in Spain and the highest level of the Spanish football league system.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- UEFA says the league phase of the 2026/27 Conference League is upon us, with 36 teams hoping to make their mark.