Shamrock Rovers' league season concluded at the start of this month, and although they secured a 2-1 victory over Waterford FC to end the campaign with 61 points, they ultimately had to settle for a disappointing second place.
That marks their first year without a league title since placing second in 2019, bringing an end to their four-year domination of the League of Ireland Premier division.
Stephen Bradley's side will have to overcome that setback as their focus shifts back to the league phase of the Conference League, which the Rovers have enjoyed a superb start to.
Shamrock currently sit 10th in the table with four points from the first two games, with a win against Larne FC and a draw with APOEL Nicosia, and they will aim to extend their unbeaten start against New Saints before matches against Rapid Wien, Borac Banja Luka and Chelsea.
As for New Saints, they have had a phenomenal start to the 2024-25 season as they secured their place in the league phase of the Conference League by beating Panevezys 3-0 on aggregate in the qualification playoff round.
That saw them not only secure their place in a European competition for the first time in their history but also become the first side playing in the Welsh league system to qualify for the group stage or league phase of a European tournament.
Craig Harrison's men lost 2-0 in their opening match against Fiorentina but secured a historic triumph against Astana last time out, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Rory Holden and Declan McManus.



译文(自动翻译仅供参考):

三叶草流浪者的联赛在本月初结束了，虽然他们以2-1战胜沃特福德，以61分结束了联赛，但他们最终不得不满足于令人失望的第二名。
这是他们自2019年排名第二以来首次没有联赛冠军，结束了他们对爱尔兰联赛超级联赛的四年统治。
斯蒂芬·布拉德利的球队将不得不克服这一挫折，因为他们的注意力将转移到联盟联赛的联赛阶段，流浪者队已经享受了一个极好的开局。
三叶草目前在前两场比赛中积4分排名第10，他们赢了拉恩FC，战平了尼科西亚APOEL，他们的目标是在对阵快速维也纳，博拉茨巴尼亚卢卡和切尔西之前延续对新圣徒的不败开局。
新圣徒队在季后赛资格赛中以总比分3-0击败帕内维齐斯队，确保了联盟阶段的席位，在2024-25赛季取得了惊人的开局。
这不仅见证了他们历史上第一次确保了欧洲赛事的席位，而且成为了威尔士联赛体系下第一支晋级欧洲赛事小组赛或联赛阶段的球队。
克雷格·哈里森的球队在首场比赛中0 - 2输给了佛罗伦萨，但在上一场比赛中，他们凭借罗里·霍尔顿和德克兰·麦克马纳斯的进球，2-0战胜了阿斯塔纳，取得了历史性的胜利。