Djurgardens IF play host to Shamrock Rovers on Thursday evening having already secured a place in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Shamrock have already been confirmed in bottom spot, making the fixture in Sweden a dead rubber for both sides.

Match preview

As one of the minnows to make the group stages, Shamrock have attempted to enjoy a rare extended experience in Europe even when things have not gone their own way.

Stephen Bradley can be pleased with their efforts at home, being the only side to take points off Djurgardens and earning a 1-1 draw with Gent last time out.

Nevertheless, Shamrock have never realistically been in contention for the top two, losing their other two away fixtures by 3-0 scorelines.

With two points on the board, however, Rovers have not disgraced themselves, and they will have the belief that they can test the unbeaten group winners on away territory having already held them to a goalless draw.

Shamrock also head into this match having been crowned as League Of Ireland Premier Division champions over the weekend courtesy of a 1-0 win over second-placed Derry City.

From Djurgarden's perspective, they are currently enjoying the most successful European campaign in their history very much against the odds.

Either Gent or Molde had been expected to win Group F, particularly when the Swedish outfit were held by Shamrock in their opening fixture.

Since then, Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlof have witnessed their side win four successive matches, three of them coming in thrillers where they have also shipped twice in each fixture.

That included last time out, Djurgarden finding themselves two goals adrift to Molde after just 21 minutes before storming back to win by a 3-2 scoreline.

At a time when they will only finish in second spot in the Swedish top flight, the performances of the Iron Stoves have been remarkable, and they will hope to cap off an eye-catching two months with yet another maximum points.

Team News

With top spot secured, there are likely to be changes to the Djurgardens XI, although only Marcus Danielson and Piotr Johansson have started all five group-stage games.

Hjalmar Ekdal could replace the former in the centre of defence, while the trio of Victor Edvardsen, Joel Asoro and Rasmus Schuller may all be rested due to being one yellow card away from a ban.

Magnus Eriksson may return in central midfield, while Karl Holmberg could be handed a rare start down the centre of the attack.

Shamrock will not be able to call upon Justin Ferizaj and Sean Kavanagh after the former was sent off against Gent and the latter collected his third yellow card.

Ferizaj was dismissed after being introduced as a substitute, but Jack Byrne is in line to replace Kavanagh in midfield.

Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Lofgren, Ekdal, Bengtsson; Finndell; Eriksson, Banda; Asoro, Holmberg, Wikheim

Shamrock Rovers possible starting lineup:
Mannus; Cleary, Pico, Grace; Farrugia, Byrne, Hoare, Lyons; Towell, Gaffney, Ferizaj

We say: Djurgardens IF 2-0 Shamrock Rovers

While both managers will likely take the opportunity to make changes, we do not expect it to influence the end result. Despite their success at the weekend, Shamrock are unlikely to rise to the occasion in Sweden, their hosts playing well enough to coast to another three points.

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

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