Preview:Copenhagen vs Malmo - prediction, team news, lineups

The first Scandinavian showdown did not live up to the hype, but Danish giants Copenhagen and Swedish titans Malmo now reunite in Tuesday's Champions League qualifying third-round second-leg tie at Parken Stadium.

The two Nordic foes played out a goalless stalemate in their opening battle, no doubt a more favourable result for Jacob Neestrup's men as they return to their Copenhagen headquarters.

Match preview

Separated by just 30km and the second-longest bridge in Europe, Copenhagen and Malmo were pitted against each other for the first time in Champions League action last week, but the 20,000-strong Swedish crowd did not exactly get their money's worth.

Indeed, a 0-0 draw at the Eleda Stadion leaves everything to play for on Tuesday night, where the victor will earn a Champions League playoff date with Basel for the right to advance to this year's league phase.

Neestrup's Copenhagen would likely have accepted a bore draw before the first whistle blew as the Danish Superliga giants aim to make amends on home soil, where they professionally dispatched Drita in their opening Champions League qualifier.

However, the Lions were left shell-shocked on Friday night as they succumbed to a 3-2 top-flight loss to Aarhus at the Parken Stadium, falling 3-0 down before trying to mount an unsuccessful comeback in the last 15 minutes.

The manner of Copenhagen's defensive capitulation may be of great concern to Neestrup, especially seeing as his side had kept five straight clean sheets before their Superliga slaughter, so the odds are not completely stacked in their favour.

While Copenhagen have frequented the Champions League proper in recent times, Malmo only have three group-stage appearances to their name since the competition's rebranding from the European Cup, most recently in 2021-22.

The Swedish Allsvenskan champions have taken the scenic route to even make it this far in the preliminary rounds, firstly dispatching Iberia 6-2 on aggregate in their first Champions League qualifier before taking down RFS 5-1 over the course of two legs.

However, in strikingly similar fashion to their upcoming hosts, Henrik Rydstrom's men also came out second-best on home turf at the weekend, suffering a 3-1 Allsvenskan loss to league leaders Mjallby as the gap to the table-toppers widened.

The reigning champions now find themselves a staggering 13 points behind Mjallby in fourth place in the Allsvenskan rankings, while they have also played a game more than second-placed Hammarby and third-placed Elfsborg, so a Malmo miracle is necessary if they are to somehow retain their grip on the domestic title.

On a brighter note, away days tend to fill the visiting faithful with optimism; Rydstrom's men have won their last four matches on the road, are unbeaten in six, and also edged out Copenhagen 1-0 in their first and only trip to Parken Stadium to date in the 2019-20 Europa League.

Copenhagen Champions League form:

Copenhagen form (all competitions):

Malmo Champions League form:

Malmo form (all competitions):

Team News

Copenhagen were forced to see out the final few minutes of their loss to Aarhus with 10 men, as Elias Achouri sustained a hamstring injury after Neestrup had made all five of his substitutions.

The extent of the winger's issue is not clear, but he will almost certainly not be involved in Tuesday's second leg, thus joining Oliver Hojer (surgery), Jonathan Moalem (hip) and Junnosuke Suzuki (unspecified) on the sidelines.

Either Mohamed Elyounoussi or Youssoufa Moukoko should be the man to benefit from Achouri's blow, although the latter was not involved at all in the first leg as Neestrup exercises caution over his fitness.

Meanwhile, Malmo must make do without a couple of veterans for the second leg, as captain Anders Christiansen is nursing a groin problem, while 36-year-old left-back Martin Olsson is recovering from a hamstring issue.

Striker Erik Botheim is also on the way back from a leg issue, so either Taha Ali or 18-year-old Daniel Gudjohnsen - the son of ex-Chelsea and Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen - should spearhead the attack.

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Kotarski; Huescas, Hatzidiakos, Pereira, Lopez; Larsson, Mattsson, Delaney, Elyounoussi; Claesson, Moukoko

Malmo possible starting lineup:

Olsen; Rosler, Djuric, Jansson; Stryger Larsen, Busuladzic, Johnsen, Busanello; Bolin, Haksabanovic; Ali

We say: Copenhagen 1-0 Malmo (Copenhagen win 1-0 on aggregate)

Both sides' demoralising league defeats in recent days adds another layer of intrigue to Tuesday's second leg, where Malmo cannot rely on diligent defending to progress, unless they are banking on penalty-shootout success.

Copenhagen will almost certainly break through eventually, though, and as Neestrup's men have been largely impeccable defensively this season - Aarhus aside - they can then shut up shop to advance to the playoffs.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.