Preview: Egnatia Rrogozhine vs. Petrocub Hincesti - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to advance to the second qualifying round in the Champions League, Egnatia Rrogozhine and Petrocub Hincesti face off at Arena Egnatia with the tie level after last week's first leg.

The Albanian outfit responded to falling behind to find an equaliser before the break, giving them a strong chance of progress to the next round at the expense of the Hincesti Lions, who could not exploit their 45-minute 11-v-10 advantage.

Match preview

It goes without saying that Nevil Dede would have been pleased with his team's response at Stadionul Zimbru last week, with Egnatia showcasing their battling qualities and resoluteness.

The Rrogozhine-based club fell behind to Petru Popescu's goal inside the opening minute of the first leg in Moldova, leaving them facing an uphill challenge in their first competitive match since May.

Rather than mope and let heads drop, Dede's team responded positively and found a way back into the game 10 minutes before the interval, with Altin Kryeziu levelling proceedings after 35 minutes.

However, no sooner had the Albanian club celebrated than they had central midfielder Albano Aleksi dismissed for a foul on the stroke of the break, meaning they had to withstand Petrocub's second-half bombardment.

That was ultimately survived as the Albanian champions held on for the second half's entirety to head into Wednesday's fixture encouraged and aiming to advance past the first round of Champions League qualifying for the first time, having been unsuccessful in 2024-25 and last season.

Hoping to be third-time lucky after a penalty shootout loss to Borac Banja Luka in 2024 and a heavy 5-1 aggregate hammering by Breidablik 12 months ago, Dede aims to guide his troops to a meeting with Celje in the next round.

Petrocub will hope to avoid any such outcome as the Hincesti Lions look to move on from their disappointment of not taking advantage of an early lead.

What was doubly jarring for Shota Makharadze's side was their inability to score a much-needed winning goal despite playing against 10 men.

With their only defeats in 2026 coming at the hands of Sheriff in mid-March and mid-May, the Moldovan champions look to extend their run of avoiding losses to everyone else and secure a place in the next round.

Be that as it may, simply avoiding a loss in 90 minutes or extra time may not suffice, as there remains a possibility of an exit on penalties if the tie remains level after Wednesday's meeting.

For that to be achieved, the White-Blacks must finish better than they did in Saturday's 1-1 league draw away at Balti, for whom goalkeeper Artur Nazarciuc was in inspired form to keep the score level.

Looking to match their 2024-25 run of reaching the second qualifying round, Petrocub hope to hurt Egnatia's prospects to advance on Wednesday.

Egnatia Rrogozhine Champions League form:

Petrocub Hincesti Champions League form:

Petrocub Hincesti form (all competitions):

Team News

Egnatia will be without the suspended Aleksi after the 33-year-old midfielder's dismissal last week, although Dede otherwise seems to have a healthy squad.

While Alessandro Albanese and Soumaila Bakayoko failed to find the back of the net in the reverse fixture, the final-third onus will be on both players to deliver the goods after their goalscoring exploits in the title-winning 2025-26 season.

Daniel Adjessa's six goals may have fallen behind the duo; however, he possesses genuine match-winning potential to aid the home team's prospects.

Makharadze's Petrocub side ostensibly avoided injuries in their league stalemate over the weekend, giving the Hincesti Lions a relatively fit squad for the midweek fixture.

While Popescu has yet to score in the league this term, last season's 15-goal forward remains the team's leading marksman, highlighted by his first-minute opener in the 1-1 first-leg draw.

Nonetheless, with Dan Puscas and Nicolae Rotaru netting three apiece, the away side have sufficient attacking threats to assist Popescu in Rrogozhine.

Egnatia Rrogozhine possible starting lineup:

Dajsinani; Sota, Bitri, Xhemajli; Jaime, Kryeziu, Medeiros, Yago; Albanese; Gruda, Bakayoko

Petrocub Hincesti possible starting lineup:

Avram; Jardan, Bors, Djou, Cucos, Platica; Bogaciuc, David, Puscas, Lupan; Popescu

We say: Egnatia Rrogozhine 2-1 Petrocub Hincesti (Egnatia Rrogozhine win 3-2 on aggregate)

Despite the absence of captain Aleksi, Egnatia's battling qualities without the dismissed midfielder last week demonstrated their adaptability.

Given their match-winning depth, the Rrogozhine-based club should back themselves to reach the second qualifying round in Europe at Petrocub's expense.

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