Preview:Lech Poznan vs Red Star Belgrade - prediction, team news, lineups

On Wednesday, Lech Poznan will welcome Red Star Belgrade to Poland for the first leg of their Champions League third-round qualifying tie.

The hosts cruised past Breidablik in the previous round, while the visitors made light work of their tie against Lincoln Red Imps.

Match preview

Lech are competing in the Champions League qualifying rounds for the second time in three seasons after lifting their ninth Ekstraklasa title last season.

They recorded 22 victories, four draws and eight defeats in 34 matches to finish just one point clear of Rakow Czestochowa in second position.

Niels Frederiksen's side made an impressive start to their Champions League journey with a dominant display against Breidablik, running riot to clinch a 7-1 home victory, before picking up a 1-0 win in the return leg in Iceland.

They are now set to battle Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade for the chance to face Dynamo Kyiv or Pafos in the playoff round.

Lech will enter the first leg in high spirits after edging out Gornik Zabrze in Saturday's home league clash, with goals from Leo Bengtsson and Mikael Ishak proving enough to claim a 3-1 victory.

They should also be able to take confidence from the fact that they have won five of their previous six home matches in European competition (including qualifying).

Red Star Belgrade are competing in Champions League qualifying after cruising to their eighth consecutive Serbian SuperLiga title last term.

They hit the 100-point mark after winning 32, drawing four and losing just one of their 37 league matches in the 2024-25 campaign.

Red Star are now looking to make a third successive appearance in the Champions League main draw, although they still have plenty of work to do if they are to seal a spot in the league phase.

They made a commanding start to their European campaign, following a 1-0 away win over Lincoln Red Imps with a dominant 5-1 victory in last week's home leg.

Aleksandar Katai, Mirko Ivanic, Bruno Duarte and Milson all found the net in a blistering first-half display, before Cherif Ndiaye restored the four-goal advantage in the second half after Tjay De Barr had pulled a goal back for the Gibraltar Football League champions.

Impressively, Red Star have won all four competitive matches this season by a combined 17-2 scoreline, ensuring that they will head to Poland in a confident mood.

Lech Poznan Champions League form:

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Lech Poznan form (all competitions):

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Red Star Belgrade Champions League form:

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Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):

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Team News

Lech are unable to call upon Radoslaw Murawski, Bartlomiej Baranski, Daniel Hakans and Patrik Walemark due to injury.

The hosts will have to assess the fitness of attacker Afonso Sousa, who has been absent for the last three competitive matches.

Ali Gholizadeh and Luis Palma are pushing for starting spots after featuring as half-time substitutes at the weekend.

As for the visitors, Vladan Milojevic may be reluctant to make any changes to the side that eased to a 5-1 home victory over Lincoln Red Imps last Tuesday.

Duarte is set to lead the line for the visitors after scoring in each of his four competitive appearances this season.

Marko Arnautovic, who made his debut as a substitute last week, should feature on the bench again after arriving from Inter Milan this summer.

Lech Poznan possible starting lineup:

Mrozek; Pereira, Skrzypczak, Milic, Moutinho; Jagiello, Kozubal; Gholizadeh, Palma, Bengtsson; Ishak

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Milosavljevic, Veljkovic, Rodrigo, Tiknizyan; Krunic, Elsnik; Milson, Katai, Ivanic; Duarte

We say: Lech Poznan 1-1 Red Star Belgrade

Lech Poznan and Red Star Belgrade will expect the upcoming tie to be much closer than their respective scorelines in the second qualifying round, and both teams will surely be reluctant to take too many risks in the first leg, which is why we think that the two sides could play out a score draw in Poland.

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