Preview: Copenhagen vs Polissya Zhytomyr - prediction, team news, lineups

Copenhagen and Polissya Zhytomyr will lock horns on Wednesday evening in the second leg of their Conference League second qualifying round contest.

The tie is delicately poised following a 3-3 draw in the first leg last week, with both sides scoring in the latter stages of what was a pulsating contest.

Match preview

Copenhagen took the lead in the fourth minute of the first leg of the second qualifying round contest, before the Ukrainian outfit struck twice to lead 2-1 at the end of the half, but there were three more goals in the second half, including two late on, as the stunning game finished 3-3.

The Team of the City have won a record 16 Danish championships; Bo Svensson's side finished seventh last term but managed to qualify for the Conference League courtesy of their success in Denmark's end-of-season European playoff fixture against Brondby.

Copenhagen started their 2026-27 Danish Superliga campaign on Sunday, recording a 3-2 victory over Lyngby, and there is pressure on the Danish giants to enjoy a more successful season.

Svensson's team have only made two signings this summer, boosting their squad with the arrivals of Alex Kral and Felix Beijmo.

Eight players have left Copenhagen this summer, meanwhile, including Nathan Trott, with the goalkeeper making the move to Cardiff City.

Polissya finished third in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, which allowed them to qualify for the second qualification round of the Conference League.

Ruslan Rotan's side will start their new league campaign on August 2, but it would be fair to say that their full focus is currently on this second leg.

Polissya have played nine Conference League matches, suffering six defeats in the process, but they did reach the playoff round in 2025-26 before losing to Fiorentina.

The visitors would take on Debrecen or Pyunik if they manage to reach the next stage, and history would be made if the team qualified for the league phase.

Copenhagen Conference League form:

Copenhagen form (all competitions):

Polissya Zhytomyr Conference League form:

Team News

Copenhagen will be missing Rodeigo Huescas, Magnus Mattsson, Domink Sarapata, Hunor Nemeth and Viktor Dadason through injury on Wednesday.

Robert has started the season impressively, scoring twice in two appearances, and the 21-year-old will again feature in a wide area for the Danish outfit.

Mohamed Elyounoussi is also set to be a notable starter in the final third of the field, while ex-Borussia Dortmund youngster Youssoufa Moukoko will lead the line.

As for Polissya, head coach Rotan could name an unchanged side from the one that took to the field for the first whistle of the first leg last week.

Oleksandr Nazarenko scored six times in all competitions during the 2025-26 campaign, and there will be a spot in a wide area for the 25-year-old in this European contest.

There is also set to be a position in the XI for the team's biggest signing of the summer - Leandro Andrade from Qarabag.

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Runarsson; Nyassi, Beijmo, Garananga, Suzuki, Lopez; Elyounoussi, Clem, Madsen, Robert; Moukoko

Polissya Zhytomyr possible starting lineup:

Bushchan; Mykhaylichenko, Chobotenko, Sarapiy, Krushynskyi; Andriyevski, Tomanzoto, Fedor; Leandro, Krasnopir, Nazarenko

We say: Copenhagen 2-1 Polissya Zhytomyr (Copenhagen win 5-4 on aggregate)

This is a difficult one to predict given how the first leg unfolded, but Copenhagen will have home advantage, and we are expecting the Danish outfit to navigate their way into the next round.

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