Preview: Omonia vs. Sheriff Tiraspol - prediction, team news, lineups

Omonia and Sheriff Tiraspol will kickstart their Europa League campaigns this Thursday when they compete in the opening Group E match.

Both teams will be keen to start things off with three points, and each will head into this one with confidence following victories at the weekend.

Match preview

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Omonia showcased their strength during their two Europa League playoff matches against Gent where they won both matches by two goals to nil.

Neil Lennon will be confident his team can take that form into the opening group game against Sheriff Tiraspol, especially since they have tough fixtures against Manchester United and Real Sociedad to come.

The hosts have only played two fixtures in the Cypriot First Division, which have resulted in mixed results with one victory and draw.

However, Omonia's most recent game took place at the weekend, and should see the team head into this game with confidence after they showcased their attacking qualities.

The match was a five-goal thriller with Roman Bezus, Bruno Felipe and Fotis Papoulis all getting themselves on the scoresheet in that one.

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Sheriff Tiraspol were the surprise package of the Champions League last season, and even though they did not qualify from the group, they showcased their qualities by defeating eventual winners Real Madrid.

They ended up finishing third and moving to the Europa League where they were knocked out via a penalty shootout against Braga.

The Moldovan club will now be hoping to kick on from that when they start in this group, and they come in with plenty of confidence after a six-match run without a loss in all competitions.

Sheriff Tiraspol only just managed to reach this stage though after two goalless draws against Pyunik in their playoff matches, with penalties being how they got this far.

The squad did pick up a 2-0 win in the league at the weekend as well, and their defensive performances have showcased the qualities that the club have.

Team News

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Omonia recently confirmed the signing of former Celtic star Gary Hooper, reuniting him with Lennon at his new club, and he could end up slotting straight into the starting lineup on Thursday.

Adam Matthews and Brandon Barker are two other former Scottish Premiership stars that are in the squad, both of which might be used by Lennon.

Sheriff Tiraspol have been impressive defensively as of late, and because of that, the back four is unlikely to be changed in this particular match.

Ibrahim Rasheed and Mouhamed Diop both got on the scoresheet in their most recent game, and there is a good chance that they will be used once again on Thursday.

Omonia possible starting lineup:

Fabiano; Matthews, Yuste, Miletic, Panayiotou; Felipe, Diskerud, Charalambous, Bachirou, Lecjaks; Hooper

Sheriff Tiraspol possible starting lineup:

Celeadnic; Guedes, Kiki, Radeljic, Kpozo; Badolo, Kyabou, Diop; Ouattara, Atiemwen, Rasheed

We say: Omonia 1-2 Sheriff Tiraspol

These are two teams that will want to kickstart their Europa League campaign as strong as possible, and each team comes in with good performances already in their respective campaigns.

Sheriff Tiraspol have the momentum from the 2021-22 Champions League performances, and that is something that could be enough to help them in this one.

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