Dnipro-1 and AEK Larnaca will square off in Slovakia on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa Conference League knockout round playoff tie.
AEK make the trip with a slender 1-0 aggregate lead after going ahead late in their home leg, with Ukrainian outfit Dnipro-1 unable to host the second contest on home soil.
Match preview
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After Ukrainian domestic football was put on hold in November, last week saw Dnipro-1 return to competitive action for the first time since, as they travelled to take on AEK Larnaca to fight for a place in the final 16 of the Europa Conference League.
Oleksandr Kucher's found themselves at this stage after finishing second in their group in Europe's tertiary competition, having dropped out of Europa League qualifying at the hands of their playoff opponents in August, with the Cypriot outfit coming out as 5-1 winners over two legs.
They would then begin their group campaign with a defeat to AZ Alkmaar, but a positive run of form over the next four games sealed a second-placed finish and a playoff place, as they put up a pair of wins over Cypriot side Apollon Limassol and a victory and a draw in two meetings with FC Vaduz, with another loss to AZ in the final round of fixtures not enough to knock them out of that spot.
Following a run of friendlies, Kucher's side travelled to Cyprus again for the first leg of their playoff tie last week, in their bid to avenge the defeat earlier in the campaign and get on the front foot in the fight for a round-of-16 place, and they looked set to see out a stalemate in commendable fashion, only to concede late on in the contest.
Now with a one-goal deficit to overturn in Slovakia, but with encouragement from their resolute display, Kucher's men will be desperate to turn the tie on its head and progress with a victory on Thursday.
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They meet an AEK Larnaca side who will aim to finish the job they started last week and secure a second aggregate win of the season over their opponents in continental action.
After the 5-1 triumph over two legs in August, the Green-yellows advanced into the Europa League group stage, and although they were unable to finish in the top two and advance in Europe's second competition, their tally of five points, including a crucial 1-0 win away at Dynamo Kiev, was enough to see them pip the Russian side to third place and book their place in the Europa Conference League playoff round.
Jose Luis Oltra's men went into last week's home leg on the back of a lengthy unbeaten run to move to the top of the Cypriot First Division on 53 points from 23 top-flight outings, and after struggling to break the deadlock on home soil, they eventually gained an important advantage in the tie thanks to Angel's 84th-minute goal.
Although they come into Thursday's trip with a lead to defend, the Green-yellows may be slightly discouraged having seen their eye-catching run of form on the domestic front halted at the weekend by a 2-1 defeat away at AEL Limassol, cutting their lead at the top of the division to just a single point as a result.
Nonetheless, having already enjoyed success against the Ukrainian opponent this campaign, Oltra's men will hope to again have what it takes to get over the line and advance to the knockout stage.
Team News
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Dnipro-1 should field an unchanged starting XI from last week after their commendable performance in Cyprus, with Artem Dovbyk bound to continue leading the line having netted a team-high tally of 16 goals so far this term, including five in the Conference League group stage.
He will have support from Oleksandr Pikhalyonok, who has contributed seven goals and six assists from an advanced midfield role across league and continental action so far this term.
Elsewhere, Oleksiy Gutsulyak and new arrival Peglow should keep their places on the wings, while Ruslan Babenko and Valentyn Rubchynskyi will continue to partner up at the base of midfield.
AEK Larnaca are set to remain without top scorer Omri Altman, who has missed their last three league outings as well as last week's first leg through injury, with Rafael Lopes again set to lead the line in his absence.
Imad Faraj and Marin Jakolis could continue to operate on the wings, with key man Ivan Trickovski bound to complete the trio in support of the lone frontman.
Pere Pons and Gus Ledes will again provide quality in midfield, while Hrvoje Milicevic and Nenad Tomovic are mainstays in defence and will continue their partnership in the middle of a back four.
Dnipro-1 possible starting lineup:
Walef; Hayner, Svatok, Sarapiy, Hamache; Babenko, Rubchynskyi; Gutsulyak, Pikhalyonok, Peglow; Dovbyk
AEK Larnaca possible starting lineup:
Piric; Rosales, Milicevic, Tomovic, Angel; Pons, Ledes; Faraj, Trickovski, Jakolis; Lopes
We say: Dnipro-1 0-1 AEK Larnaca (AEK Larnaca win 2-0 on aggregate)
Although they made hard work of the home leg, AEK Larnaca will fancy themselves as a stronger outfit than their playoff opponents, particularly given how much more competitive football they have played recently, and although Dnipro-1 should again make it tough, we back Oltra's side to advance with another narrow win on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
