Swedish side Elfsborg are set to host Azerbaijan's Qarabag FK at Boras Arena this Thursday in the Europa League.
Both sides will be desperate to take three points from each other and gain ground on the playoff spots having struggled so far in their European campaigns.
Match preview
After qualifying for the Europa League through the playoffs, Oscar Hiljemark's Elfsborg are currently 28th in the table with four points, having recorded just one win and one draw from their five league stage matches this term.
Domestically, Di Gule ended the 2024 Swedish Allsvenskan season in a disappointing seventh place, nine points behind AIK, who managed to secure the last UEFA Conference League playoff spot.
Since finishing their domestic league campaign with a 0-0 draw against IFK Varnamo on November 10, Hiljemark's side have played two friendlies against Djurgardens and BK Hacken, and those friendlies represent the club's only two wins from their last five games overall.
In their most recent competitive match, Elfsborg lost 3-0 on the road to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League on November 28.
In that game, Di Gule were thoroughly dominated from start to finish, conceded after only six minutes, registered just over 29% possession and faced six shots on target while producing none of their own.
This week, Hiljemark's team will be up against a Qarabag side that understands their European struggles, and they will likely have to pick up all three points to have any chance of progressing in the competition.
Sitting 32nd in the Europa League table, one point behind Elfsborg, Gurban Gurbanov's Qarabag have three points from their five European games so far.
Last time out, Atlilar drew 1-1 with Sabah FK in Azerbaijan's Premyer Liqa, a result that left Gurbanov's top scorers one point behind first-placed Araz FK with a game in hand.
In European competition, Qarabag have recorded only one win to go with their four losses this term, including an embarrassing 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Lyon most recently on November 28.
It is also notable that Gurbanov's side have conceded the most goals in the 2024-25 edition of the Europa League, and have lost by three or more goals in three of their five league stage games this term.
On the whole, it is fair to say that while Atlilar are in excellent domestic form having lost just one league match this season, they have found the level of competition difficult to handle in the Europa League, and if they are to make the next round then they will certainly need to shore up their defence.
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Team News
In Elfsborg's friendly against Hacken last week, boss Hiljemark opted to start Marcus Bundgaard Sorensen in goal, but Isak Pettersson can be expected to return to the lineup against Qarabag.
Likewise, Sebastian Holmen should return to the XI on Thursday and captain the side from centre-back alongside Ibrahim Buhari and Terry Yegbe.
Elsewhere, striker Per Frick remains out, so expect the versatile Michael Baidoo to be supported up front by Ahmed Qasem and Arber Zeneli.
As for Qarabag, young goalkeeper Amin Ramazanov is still recovering from a long-term knee injury, and Mateusz Kochalski will start between the posts, likely protected by Matheus Silva and Kevin Medina at centre-back.
In the forward line, boss Gurbanov may decide to field Leandro Andrade in a partnership with Juninho Vieira, who registered an assist last time out against Sabah.
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Pettersson; Buhari, Holmen, Yegbe; Hedlund, B Zeneli, Baldursson, Hult; A Zeneli, Baidoo, Qasem
Qarabag FK possible starting lineup:
Kochalski; A Huseynov, Silva, Medina, Bayramov; Akhundzade, Romao, Jankovic, Addai; L Andrade, Vieira
We say: Elfsborg 2-1 Qarabag FK
Both sides have struggled in their first five Europa League matches this term and will be keenly aware that time is running out for them to pick up the necessary points to make it to the next round.
However, the defensive weakness Qarabag have displayed in the league phase so far is difficult to overlook, and Elfsborg may exploit this to take all three points on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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