Turkish outfit Konyaspor welcome Belarusian giants BATE Borisov to the Konya Buyuksehir Torku Arena for the second leg of their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday.
The hosts currently boast a 3-0 lead from the first leg, with the winners of this tie facing either FC Koper or FC Vaduz in the next round.
Match preview
Konyaspor boosted their chances of competing in European competition for the first time in five years by securing a three-goal victory away in Belarus last week, despite being down to 10 men for over half of the match.
Just two minutes after Zymer Bytyqi had given Konyaspor the lead, Ugurcan Yazgili was shown a second yellow card for a lunging challenge on Nemanja Milic.
However, the Anatolian Eagle were unfazed by the hosts having an extra man, and second-half strikes from Konrad Michalak and Robert Muric helped them to run away with victory.
Ilhan Palut's side enjoyed a successful domestic campaign last season as they finished third in the Super Lig, 18 points and eight places better off than the previous campaign.
Konyaspor head into Thursday's contest with an impressive home record as they have lost only two of their last 22 competitive matches at the Konya Buyuksehir Torku Arena over the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, BATE Borisov head coach Aleksandr Mikhaylov has plenty to ponder after their disappointing defeat last week, a result which extended their winless run in all tournaments to four matches.
The Yellow-Blues are a dominant force in the Belarusian top flight as they have finished in the top two in each of the last 17 years, winning the title on 13 of these occasions including last season.
BATE are currently sitting at the summit this term after 15 games, but their lead has been cut to just one point after failing to win three successive league matches.
The Belarusian giants now turn their attention back to the Europa Conference League, where Mikhaylov's men are on the verge of elimination at the same stage that they failed to progress from last season when they lost 5-1 on aggregate to Dinamo Batumi.
A miraculous turnaround on Thursday, however, would see them move one step closer to qualifying for the group stage of any European competition for the first time since 2018-19.
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Team News
Considering that Konyaspor have an 11-day break between Thursday's game and their opening Super Lig clash, Palut is expected to name a strong side to ensure that his key players remain match fit ahead of the new domestic season.
The hosts are unable to call upon Yazgili due to suspension, with either Adil Demirbag or summer arrival Kahraman Demirtas set to start alongside Francisco Calvo at centre-back as a result.
Bytyqi, Michalak and Endri Cekici could all retain their places in the final third, supporting lone striker Sokol Cikalleshi.
As for BATE Borisov, Mikhaylov may stick with a 3-4-3 formation but is set to adopt an attack-minded approach in a bid to reduce the three-goal deficit.
Dmitriy Bessmertniy and Vladislav Malkevich are the two most likely candidates to start as wing-backs, while Milic, Ilya Vasilevich and Valeri Gromyko are all expected to play in attack.
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Oguz, Demirbag, Calvo, Sitya; Dikmen, Hadziahmetovic; Michalak, Cekici, Butuqi; Cikalleshi
BATE Borisov possible starting lineup:
Kudravets; Nechayev, Filipovic, Bardachow; Bessmertniy, Dragun, Bocherov, Bessmertniy; Milic, Vasilevich, Gromyko
We say: Konyaspor 2-0 BATE Borisov (Konyaspor to in 5-0 on aggregate)
After scoring three goals and winning last week's first-leg with 10 men, Konyaspor will be confident of finishing the job on home soil and booking their place in the next round.
The pressure is on BATE to somehow turn the tie around and end their poor run of form, but we feel that the hosts will have few problems in securing another victory on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
