Preview: Sabah vs KuPS - prediction, team news, lineups

Sabah welcome Finnish champions KuPS to the Bank Respublika Arena on Tuesday evening for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie.

Both sides are aiming to reach the third qualifying round of the competition for the first time, with the Azerbaijani champions arriving in buoyant mood after overcoming The New Saints, while the Finnish side were forced to dig deep before edging past Vardar.

Match preview

Sabah produced another assured display to book their place in the second qualifying round, following up a 2-0 home victory over The New Saints with a 2-1 success in Wales to complete a comfortable 4-1 aggregate triumph.

Joy-Lance Mickels and Rahman Dashdamirov found the net in the first half of the second leg as the Azerbaijani champions, while conceding late in the game.

That result extended the momentum generated by Valdas Dambrauskas, who guided Sabah to a historic league and cup double last season, ending Qarabag's long-standing dominance of Azerbaijani football and delivering the club's maiden league title.

Their reward is another opportunity to continue writing history in Europe, where progression to the third qualifying round would represent their best-ever Champions League run.

Sabah made home advantage count in the first qualifying round, leaving them with a cushion to build on when they traveled for the return leg, a trick they will be eager to repeat ahead of next week’s return leg in Finland.

Standing in their way is a KuPS side that survived a major scare against North Macedonian outfit Vardar in the previous round.

After claiming an impressive 2-0 away victory in the first leg, the Finnish champions saw that advantage wiped out during the return fixture before eventually prevailing 4-3 on aggregate thanks to extra-time goals from Bob Nii Armah and Piotr Parzyszek.

Despite the dramatic nature of that victory, KuPS continue to impress under Miika Nuutinen, who succeeded Jarkko Wiss after last season's title-winning campaign.

The visitors currently sit top of the Veikkausliiga table with 33 points after defeating SJK 2-0 at the weekend, extending their excellent domestic form where they have lost just one of 16 league matches (W9, 6D).

Sabah Champions League form:

Sabah form (all competitions):

KuPS Champions League form:

KuPS form (all competitions):

Team News

Sabah have been handed a significant boost with the return of centre-back Steve Solvet, who is available again after serving his one-match suspension following his dismissal in the first leg against The New Saints.

Khayal Aliyev remains a doubt after missing both matches against the Welsh champions with a tendon injury, while Dambrauskas is unlikely to make wholesale changes following consecutive victories over The New Saints.

KuPS are set to remain without midfielder Samuel Pasanen, who has been out since November last year, and Jerry Voutilainen, who has been injured since December.

Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba has completed the imposed on him by UEFA following a straight red card for violent conduct in last season’s Europa Conference League fixture against Lech Poznan, and the Finnish forward will hope to start here after finding the net against SJK over the weekend.

One of last week’s goalscorers, Armah, will hope to also make a return to the XI after getting full rest for the win over SJK on Saturday.

Sabah possible starting lineup:

Pokatilov; Zedadka, Solvet, Dashdamirov, Puchacz; Lepinjica, Rakhmonaliev, Isayev; Parris, Mickels, Simic

KuPS possible starting lineup:

Kreidl; Puukko, Magassa, Adams, Antwi; Gasc, Pennanen; Jyry, Engvall, Armah; Moreno

We say: Sabah 2-1 KuPS

Sabah have looked well organised throughout their opening European ties and should benefit from playing the first leg at home, where they have built considerable momentum under Dambrauskas.

KuPS have already demonstrated tremendous resilience by surviving a dramatic tie against Vardar, but we expect the home side to take a narrow advantage into next week's return leg.

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