Preview: Larne vs Tre Fiori - prediction, team news, lineups

Larne will welcome Tre Fiori to Inver Park for the second leg of the first round of Champions League qualifying.

The Northern Irish side boast a narrow advantage ahead of Tuesday's fixture after claiming a 1-0 victory in San Marino.

Match preview

Larne are competing in Champions League qualifying for the third time in four seasons after lifting the NIFL Premiership title last term.

They experienced disappointing results in their first two experiences of Champions League qualifying, losing 3-2 to HJK after extra time in 2023-24 before suffering a heavy 7-0 defeat to RFS in 2024-25.

However, two seasons later, Larne are in a strong position to win their first Champions League qualifying tie after enjoying a successful trip to San Marino last Tuesday.

Matthew Lusty's 45th-minute effort proved enough to fire Larne to a narrow 1-0 victory, just days after they beat Coleraine on penalties in the Charity Shield.

Another positive result on Tuesday would see Gary Haveron's side set up a second-round clash against Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade.

However, Larne will be aware that the job is far from done, especially as they have lost six of their last 10 home games in European competition.

Tre Fiori, meanwhile, are participating in Champions League qualifying after winning the Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio by a narrow one-point margin last term, their first league title since the 2019-20 season.

They have previously made four appearances in qualifying of UEFA's elite club competition, losing in the first round in 2009, 2010, and 2010 before being beaten 2-0 by Northern Irish outfit Linfield in the preliminary round in 2020.

Those results have contributed to a poor record that has seen them lose nine of their 11 qualifying ties in European competition.

Tre Fiori will need to overturn a one-goal deficit if they are to win their first European tie since beating Fola Esch 4-1 in the first round of Conference League qualifying in 2022-23.

The San Marino outfit recorded a 1-0 victory in Luxembourg in that particular tie, representing their one and only away win in European football, highlighting the size of the task that awaits them on Tuesday.

If they are unable to fight back from a goal down, Tre Fiori will be transferred into the third round of Conference League qualifying.

Larne Champions League form:

Larne form (all competitions):

W W

Tre Fiori Champions League form:

Team News

Defender Sam McClelland will have to be assessed after being withdrawn at the interval in San Marino.

Dan Bent could drop into the backline if McClelland does not feature, which would open the door for Jordan McEneff to start in midfield.

Gary Haveron is expected to stick with Montel Gibson and Lusty as his front-two pairing.

As for the visitors, Federico Pesaresi is in contention to start if Danilo Girolomoni decides to alter his backline for Tuesday's fixture.

Guilio Ponticelli is also pushing to feature as Tre Fiori's left-back after coming off the bench to play over half an hour in the first leg.

Captain Matteo Prandelli is likely to be one of the main attacking threats after scoring 24 goals in 36 competitive appearances last season.

Larne possible starting lineup:

Ferguson; Ridley, Bent, Donnelly; Cosgrove, McEneff, Gallagher, Doherty, Graham; Gibson, Lusty

Tre Fiori possible starting lineup:

Nardi; Siku, Pesaresi, Sirri; D'Addario, Sami, Bertani, Ponticelli; Benedettini; Bernardi, Prandelli

We say: Larne 2-0 Tre Fiori (Larne to win 3-0 on aggregate)

After completing half the job in San Marino, we think Larne will back up that strong away performance by making full use of home advantage in the second leg, especially as Tre Fiori tend to struggle on their travels in European competition.

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