Preview: Gornik Zabrze vs. Ferencvaros - prediction, team news, lineups

A week removed from their close encounter in Budapest, Gornik Zabrze host Ferencvaros at Arena Zabrze in the second leg of their Europa League third qualifying round, seeking to overturn the 1-0 deficit.

The Polish outfit have not played in any European competition since the now-defunct Intertoto Cup in 1995, and they strive to come within touching distance in the Europa League, 31 years after 1994’s first-round UEFA Cup elimination.

Match preview

Having not played in European football of any kind in over three decades, Gornik are nearly there, with victory on Thursday guaranteeing that the Miners feature on the continent in 2026-27.

While Trabzonspor potentially await in the playoff round if Michal Gasparik’s team beat their Hungarian opponents this week, they are guaranteed to play the league phase of the Europa or Conference League, as the losers of the playoff round advance to the continent’s third-tier club competition.

Gornik would hope their lot lands them a Europa League berth, marking their return to the competition for the first time since the 1994-95 season and the first time in its modern guise.

That ambition was aided by the team showcasing their battling qualities a week ago in Budapest, where they mostly prevented their Hungarian hosts from scoring more than one and carrying an attacking threat themselves.

Admittedly, they were outshot 15-10, but Gasparik’s side had more touches in the Ferencvaros penalty area (19) than their hosts (18), indicating that they made inroads, even if their finishing was not up to scratch.

Having shown they can mix it with Europe’s second-tier sides when they ran Fenerbahce close in the Champions League preliminary round, Gornik will back themselves to overturn last week’s deficit, even if they will need stars to align to achieve that target.

Ferencvaros will be aware of their hosts’ dream of reaching the main stage of a European competition again after over a decade; however, they will back themselves to worsen the home side’s already underwhelming run of results.

Gornik have lost 50% of their six matches across all competitions in 2026-27, a statistic that the visitors will look to use to their advantage, potentially setting up a playoff meeting with Trabzonspor.

Nonetheless, the visitors are in rather indifferent form themselves, evidenced by claiming one win from four competitive fixtures heading into this week’s encounter, albeit their sole victory came in last week’s slender win.

Indeed, Balazs Borbely will hope that his side rediscover their form in the attacking third, having already notched two each in three away matches this term, securing a pair of 2-1 wins in Europe against Vojvodina and FC Twente, as well as losing 4-2 against Paks.

Nonetheless, the Greens’ inability to keep clean sheets on the road does not bode well for Thursday’s prospects in Zabrze, likely hindering their chances of advancing to the playoff round for a chance to reach the main stage of the Europa League for the third year running.

Gornik Zabrze Europa League form:

Gornik Zabrze form (all competitions):

Ferencvaros Europa League form:

Ferencvaros form (all competitions):

Team News

Gornik are still without Jaroslaw Kubicki, who has not played since breaking his arm against Lech Poznan in the Polish Super Cup in mid-July, all but marking the hosts’ only absentee for the visit of Ferencvaros.

Sondre Liseth may have led the way for goals when the Polish side finished runners-up in their domestic league, but the 28-year-old has yet to find the back of the net this term and indeed since scoring in Gornik’s 6-2 win over Radomiak in May.

Instead, Peter Gonzalez has been the team’s leading attacking threat this season, and the forward will hope to make an impact as a substitute or starter.

Ferencvaros are without several players due to injury or ineligibility, but Elton Acolatse stands out, given he tallied 16 goal involvements in the 26-27 season.

While Zsombor Fruber - who produced 16 goal contributions last term - is part of the group, the forward has yet to feature in Europe since mid-July, leaving observers questioning the logic behind sidelining a productive player.

Also absent are Endre Botka, Gergo Szecsi, Habib Maiga, Franko Kovacevic, Bence Otvos, Barnabas Nagy, Isaac Pappoe and Adam Madarasz due to their ineligibility.

Gornik Zabrze possible starting lineup:

Schulze; Sacek, Janicki, Josema, Janza; Sadilek, Dietz, Urbanski; Dimi, Prekop, Ismaheel

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Osvath, Raemaekers, Gomez, Cadu; Corbu, Kanichowsky, Levi; Zachariassen, Joseph, Yusuf

We say: Gornik Zabrze 1-1 Ferencvaros (Ferencvaros win 2-1 on aggregate)

Gornik will throw everything at their visitors in an effort to overturn the slender deficit, but their recent run of three defeats in six matches highlights a frustrating lack of momentum.

If Ferencvaros can navigate the early pressure, the Hungarian side have enough European savvy to secure a hard-fought draw and protect their aggregate lead.

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