Preview: KuPS vs FK Vardar - prediction, team news, lineups

Holding a commanding 2-0 advantage from the first leg, KuPS return to home soil on Tuesday afternoon with one foot already in the next round of UEFA Champions League qualifying when FK Vardar visit the Kuopio Football Stadium for the second leg.

Vardar must now overturn the deficit away from home, having already been reduced to ten men late in the first leg, while KuPS arrive buoyed by their result in Skopje and the knowledge that victory on Tuesday would erase painful memories of last season’s collapse in the second round of qualifying.

Match preview

KuPS head into Tuesday’s second leg in an enviable position, having secured a 2-0 victory at the Tose Proeski Arena last week thanks to goals from Brahima Magassa and Bob Nii Armah - a result that gives Miika Nuutinen’s side full control of the tie heading into the home leg.

Vardar’s task was made harder when midfielder Nemanja Bosancic was shown a red card in the 76th minute for a second bookable offence, leaving the Macedonian champions with ten men for the final quarter of the first leg and unable to mount any meaningful response.

That victory extended KuPS’s unbeaten run in regular time to 13 matches, with the only defeat in that sequence coming in a penalty shootout against VPS in the Suomen Cup quarter-final.

Currently top of the Veikkausliiga, level with Inter Turku on 30 points from 15 games, KuPS arrive at Tuesday’s fixture in excellent domestic form as well, having won four and drawn one of their last five matches across all competitions.

The cautionary tale of last season will not be far from the minds of the KuPS players and staff, however.

Having won the first leg 2-0 against Kairat Almaty in the 2025/26 qualifying campaign second round, Nuutinen’s side were eliminated after losing the second leg 3-0 - a collapse that will ensure there is no complacency at the Kuopio Football Stadium on Tuesday regardless of the advantage they carry into the match.

Vardar arrive in Finland needing to achieve what no side has managed against KuPS in their last 13 competitive outings in regular time, and do so away from home.

Since their last competitive domestic fixture at the end of May, Vardar had played two friendly matches - winning one and drawing the other, before heading to Skopje for the first leg against KuPS.

Cristian Fabbiani’s first competitive match as Vardar head coach did not go to plan in Skopje, and the Argentine will now need to inspire a dramatic turnaround on the road.

The Macedonian champions won the 2025/26 First League title with 83 points from 33 games, losing just twice across an entire domestic season, and that pedigree earned them their place in Champions League qualifying for the first time since 2017/18.

However, their first-leg performance suggested the step up to European football has exposed vulnerabilities that Fabbiani must address quickly if their European adventure is to continue.

KuPS Champions League form:

KuPS form (all competitions):

LDWWWW

FK Vardar Champions League form:

Team News

For Vardar, Bosancic will serve his one-match suspension having been sent off for two yellow cards in the 76th minute of the first leg.

Mihail Manevski could come into the starting lineup at left back, having featured from the bench in the first leg, while Mislav Matic and Darko Velkovski are expected to continue in central defence.

Boban Nikolov and Miguel Pires are set to feature in midfield, with Ian Puleio potentially dropping to the bench as Fabbiani looks to find the right balance for a match in which Vardar must score at least twice without conceding.

Azer Omeragic and Goran Zakaric will carry Vardar’s primary attacking responsibility and will need to produce their best performance of the European campaign if the Macedonian side are to have any realistic chance of overturning the deficit.

For KuPS, Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba remains suspended, serving the second match of a two-game ban imposed by UEFA following a straight red card for violent conduct in a previous Europa Conference League fixture against Lech Poznan.

Johannes Kreidl is expected to continue in goal, with Kasim Nuhu and Magassa forming the central defensive partnership again, shielded by a midfield in which Petteri Pennanen and Valentin Gasc are set to feature.

Jaime Moreno is expected to lead the KuPS attack once again, with Gustav Engvall and Tommi Jyry providing support from the wing as Nuutinen’s side look to add to their aggregate lead early and put the tie beyond doubt.

KuPS possible starting lineup:

Kreidl; Puukko, Magassa, Nuhu, Antwi; Gasc, Pennanen; Jyry, Engvall, Armah; Moreno

FK Vardar possible starting lineup:

Taleski; Puleio, Matic, Velkovski, Jankulov; Torres, Nikolov, Castaneda, Pires; Omeragic, Zakaric

We say: KuPS 2-0 FK Vardar

Vardar must score at least twice without reply to force extra time, and their first-leg performance - reduced to ten men and unable to create clear chances gives little indication they have the tools to produce such a turnaround on the road.

The memory of last season’s collapse against Kairat should ensure KuPS approach Tuesday’s second leg with the professionalism and focus the occasion demands - Nuutinen’s side are backed to seal their passage to the next round in convincing fashion.

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