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

With the tie firmly in their hands, Red Star Belgrade play host to Lech Poznan this Tuesday for the return leg, aiming to seal their passage into the final phase of the Champions League qualifying series.

The Serbian giants head into this clash at the Rajko Mitic Stadium with a two-goal cushion after claiming a 3-1 victory in the first meeting in Poland last week.

Match preview

Red Star were ruthless on the counter in Poznan, making their chances count despite enjoying less possession, with midfielder Rade Krunic striking twice on either side of Mikael Ishak’s leveller before Bruno Duarte sealed the contest in the 73rd minute.

That result means the Belgrade outfit have now won all three matches in this season’s qualifying campaign, having eased past Gibraltar side Lincoln Red Imps with a 6-1 aggregate triumph in the previous round, and they are well placed to make the Champions League draw once again.

The Red-Whites are targeting a third consecutive appearance in the competition proper and stand just three games away from achieving that, with a tie against either Dynamo Kyiv or Pafos to follow should they complete the job on Tuesday.

Vladan Milojevic’s men head into this clash on the back of an unbeaten competitive run stretching across 11 fixtures since last season, and the prospect of winning both legs here is far from fanciful given their blistering form at the Rajko Mitic.

Indeed, Red Star have triumphed in 13 of their last 14 home matches outside friendlies, including last weekend’s 1-0 league victory over TSC, keeping CZV top of the table with three wins from three in the top flight as they seek to extend their run of eight straight league titles.

Lech, meanwhile, have made a mixed start to their title defence with two wins and one defeat from their opening three league outings, leaving Kolejorz seventh in the Ekstraklasa standings.

Niels Frederiksen’s men are four points off the summit but have a game in hand after their scheduled trip to Piast Gliwice over the weekend was postponed, potentially leaving the Poznan side with fresher legs for Tuesday’s daunting challenge.

That first-leg loss ended their run of eight straight home victories in UEFA qualifying, a streak that included a 7-1 demolition of Breidablik in the home leg of an 8-1 aggregate triumph in the previous round.

Now facing an uphill battle, Lech may draw some belief from their away record of four wins in six (D2) across all competitions since last season, although none of those successes came by more than a single goal.

It is also worth noting that failure to overturn this tie would mean the Polish side have exited at this stage of the Champions League qualifiers in three of their four appearances in the competition.

Red Star Belgrade Champions League form:

Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):

Lech Poznan Champions League form:

Lech Poznan form (all competitions):

Team News

Red Star fielded an entirely different starting XI in their weekend league match compared to the side that began in Poland.

However, Milojevic is expected to revert to a stronger lineup here, likely restoring the same core that featured in the first leg, with Matheus Magalhaes in goal behind a back four of Young-Woo Seol, Rodrigo, Milos Veljkovic and Nair Tiknizyan.

Aleksandar Katai is pushing for a start after netting the winner in their last outing, though Bruno Duarte — if his weekend absence was simply for rotation — is unlikely to lose his place up front, having scored in five successive matches.

For the visitors, there is uncertainty over the fitness of midfielder Filip Jagiello, who limped off in the opening fixture.

This adds to an already lengthy injury list featuring Radoslaw Murawski, Bartlomiej Baranski, Daniel Hakans, Patrik Walemark and Afonso Sousa.

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:

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

Lech Poznan possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Red Star Belgrade 3-1 Lech Poznan (Red Star Belgrade win 6-2 on aggregate)

Even with a healthy two-goal advantage, Red Star are expected to press home their superiority, and with an unblemished record in four home games this season, they look poised to complete a double over the Polish champions in this tie.

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