Preview: Pafos FC vs Red Bull Salzburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Red Bull Salzburg travel to Cyprus for Thursday's Europa League qualifying clash against Pafos at the Alphamega Stadium.

The Austrian giants head into the second leg of the third-round qualifying tie with a narrow advantage after claiming a 1-0 victory on home turf last week.

Match preview

Pafos are bidding to feature in the main draw of a European competition for a third consecutive season after featuring in the Conference League in 2024-25 and the Champions League in 2025-26.

The Cypriot side began their latest European adventure with a dramatic 4-2 aggregate win over Hajduk Split, which saw them overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit with a 4-0 extra-time victory on home soil.

Ricardo Sa Pinto's side will need to stage another turnaround if they are to advance to the playoff round after conceding late in a 1-0 defeat to Salzburg last week.

The return leg will take place at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol due to the fact usual home ground, the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, falls below UEFA standards.

That said, they can still take confidence from a return of eight wins from their last 12 European games in Cyprus (D3, L1), with their only defeat in that period coming against Bayern Munich in last season's Champions League league phase.

Mjallby awaits if Pafos can turn the tie in their favour, but if they fail to achieve that objective, they will drop down to the Conference League playoff round against Auda or Dinamo City.

In contrast to the hosts, Salzburg have started their Europa League campaign in the third-qualifying round after finishing in third place in the Austrian Bundesliga last term.

Danny Rohl, who took over the reins ahead of the season, was made to wait for the all-important winner in his first European game as Salzburg boss, with summer signing Haris Tabakovic coming off the bench to net an 88th-minute effort in a 1-0 victory.

Unsurprisingly, Rohl made several changes for Saturday's 1-1 draw against Wolfsberger in the league.

While they were unable to take maximum points, Yorbe Vertessen's 79th-minute equaliser extended Salzburg's unbeaten start to the season to four competitive games (W3, D1).

The Red Bulls will now head to Cyprus for the second leg after the initial fixtures were swapped around due to the fact Salzburg's Red Bull Arena is the host venue for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup between PSG and Aston Villa.

The lose of home avantage for the second leg could prove crucial, as Salzburg have lost eight of their last 10 European away matches (W2).

Pafos FC Europa League form:

L W L

Red Bull Salzburg Europa League form:

Red Bull Salzburg form (all competitions):

W W W D

Team News

Pafos are likely to be without Domingos Quina, who was forced off in the closing stages of the first half in Austria.

Sema was introduced as Quina's replacement, but he will miss the second leg after his substitute appearance ended in a 93rd-minute red card for two bookable offences.

The hosts are also unable to call upon goalkeeper Charalambos Kyriakidis and forward Jaja due to injury.

As for the visitors, forward Enrique Aguilar is unavailable for selection after sustaining an arm injury in the first leg.

Soumaila Diabate, Edmund Baidoo and Gaoussou Diakite are all hoping to shake off knocks in time for the second leg.

Tabakovic could lead the line after making his first Salzburg start in Sunday's league draw with Wolfsberger.

Pafos FC possible starting lineup:

Majecki; Brito, Goldar, Luiz, Ioannou; Dragomir, Sunjic, Guga; Mammadov, Biel, Lele

Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:

Zawieschitzky; Veratschnig, Boma, Zabransky, Schmid; Diabate, Barry; Baidoo, Diakhite, Redzic; Tabakovic

We say: Pafos FC 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg (Salzburg to win 2-1 on aggregate)

Salzburg tend to struggle on their travels in Europe, although the majority of their away defeats in the last couple of seasons took place in the main draw rather than qualifying.

With that in mind, we think the Austrian side, who are yet to lose this season, will do enough to hold Pafos to a draw to advance to the Europa League playoff round.

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