AEK Larnaca play host to Dynamo Kiev on Thursday evening with the opportunity to secure a place in the Europa Conference League after Christmas.
These two teams are already out of contention with regards to the top two in their Europa League group, with Kiev losing each of their four fixtures in Group B.
Match preview
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Having never qualified for the knockout stages of a European competition, Larnaca would have been realistic about their chances of breaking new ground, but expectation levels have risen at the Cypriot outfit.
A 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture against Thursday's opponents is currently the difference between third and fourth spot, effectively leaving Larnaca in a position where a draw will be enough for Europa Conference League football after Christmas.
With Fenerbahce and Rennes having run away with this group, that is the best that Jose Luis Oltra's side can achieve, yet it would represent an historic moment in their history.
However, the Green-Yellows have been inconsistent since the start of September, recording five wins and six defeats from their 11 games in all competitions.
After eight matches on the domestic front, Larnaca sit in fifth position in the standings, seven points adrift of the leaders.
Meanwhile, Dynamo Kiev has been far from their best since the resumption of Ukrainian football, and pressure is starting to build in a footballing sense.
Naturally, priorities have changed since Russia's military invasion, but Mircea Lucescu's side are currently eighth in the top flight and on the brink of an early exit from Europe.
On a positive note, victory at the AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis will move Kiev back into third place on goal difference, putting Larnaca in a position where they would require something from their trip to Rennes on matchday six.
While the margins are small, one result has the potential to turn around Kiev's season, giving their supporters some much-deserved optimism and happiness, at least on a small scale.
Team News
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Larnaca could be without striker and captain Ivan Trickovski after he was withdrawn at half time of the weekend's fixture at APOEL Nicosia.
Jose Romo replaced the Macedonian on that occasion, and the same change could be made for Thursday's fixture.
Angel Garcia is also serving a suspension, with Nikos Englezou in line to be given an opportunity at left-back.
Lucescu will likely make alterations to the team which could only draw with Vorskla last time out, with Denys Harmash expected to be recalled.
Volodymyr Shepelev may also return to the midfield, but Vladyslav Dubinchak is expected miss out with the injury that kept him out of the squad at the weekend.
AEK Larnaca possible starting lineup:
Piric; Rosales, Tomovic, Milicevic, Garcia; Ledes, Pons; Naoum, Altman, Gyurcso; Romo
Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Neshcheret; Kedziora, Popov, Syrota, Karavaev; Shepelev, Sydorchuk, Buyalskyi; Tsygankov, Harmash, Kabaev
We say: AEK Larnaca 1-1 Dynamo Kiev
Having not suffered a heavy defeat throughout their group-stage campaign, Kiev will still feel that they can extend their stay in Europe. However, we are backing Larnaca to do enough to claim a share of the spoils, securing third spot in the process.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
