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

Red Star Belgrade are on the cusp of advancing into the third round of Champions League qualifying, with the club set to host the second leg of their tie against Larne on Wednesday at Stadion Rajko Mitic.

The two sides clashed in the first leg of the second qualifying round on July 21, but the tie was effectively settled given Red Star emerged as 4-0 winners.

Match preview

Last week's fist leg was fairly competitive in the first half, with Red Star only taking a 1-0 lead into the interval, but a second-half blitz saw the Serbian side take a four-goal advantage into Wednesday's clash.

The Red-Whites did not concede more than three goals in any match in 2025-26, and they only conceded more than once in one of their six Champions League qualifying games in that campaign.

Red Star played eight home European fixtures last term, and the club won three times, lost twice and settled for stalemates in three game, while their losses came by a one and two-goal margin.

Manager Dejan Stankovic has enjoyed a perfect start to 2026-27 campaign, winning all three of his outings, with his players scoring 12 goals and conceding on just one occasion.

The hosts should be confident ahead of the match considering they have only failed to find the back of the net in two of their 22 most recent European fixtures.

Larne's challenge on Wednesday will be seen by many as impossible, especially as they have never previously scored at least four goals in any UEFA competition.

The visitors have in fact never even netted three times in an away match in Europe, and they have kept just five clean sheets in their 16 European fixtures on the road.

Boss Gary Haveron will almost certainly be thinking ahead to his side's season in the Northern Irish top flight, which is set to begin on August 9.

However, failure to advance into the next stage of Champions League qualifying would not signal the end of the team's continental campaign given they would be entered into the Europa League's third qualifying round.

In Larne's past eight competitive contests away from home, they have scored one or fewer goals five times, with the visitors blanking once.

Red Star Belgrade Champions League form:

Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):

Larne Champions League form:

Larne form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite the fact that Red Star have the luxury of being able to rest many stars, the lineup will almost certainly be strong, though striker Bruno Duarte should not be expected to play the whole game.

The centre-forward could be supported by Vasilije Kostov and Mirko Ivanic, and the former will be keen to score his second goal against Larne.

Timi Max Elsnik is a candidate to start at the base of a midfield three, and the anchor may be asked to protect centre-backs Strahinja Erakovic and Milos Veljkovic.

As for Larne, they could name a strong team initially, but it would be surprising to see the likes of Dan Bent and Matt Ridley feature in defence for the entirety of the game.

Sean Graham, Chris Gallagher and Ronan Doherty may play in the middle of the pitch, while striker Matthew Lusty is set to lead the line.

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Seol, Erakovic, Veljkovic, Tiknizyan; Loizou, Elsnik, Abu Fani; Kostov, Duarte, Ivanic

Larne possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Red Star Belgrade 3-1 Larne (Red Star win 7-1 on aggregate)

There is nothing to suggest that Larne can stage one of the great European comebacks, and they now face the unenviable task of heading to Stadion Rajko Mitic.

Red Star will look to take advantage of their demoralised opponents, and they could once again win by a comfortable margin.

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