Sheriff Tiraspol take on Elfsborg at the Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round showdown.
The hosts edged through the first round on penalties after a 2-2 draw over two legs against Azerbaijani side Zira FK, while the visitors comfortably defeated Pafos 8-2 on aggregate.
Match preview
Sheriff Tiraspol's dominance in the Moldovan Super Liga ended last season after six consecutive league titles, as they fell to second place, finishing six points behind champions Petrocub Hincesti in the championship round.
This year is, therefore, the first since 2011-12 they have not appeared in at least the Champions League qualifying rounds, competing instead for a place in the Europa League.
However, Sheriff Tiraspol have often dropped into Europe's second-tier competition after being knocked out of Champions League qualifying in recent years, competing in Europa League group stages in each of the last two seasons.
New manager Yury Gura has been tasked with taking Sheriff back to the top of Moldovan football, but the Ukrainian has struggled in his opening games in charge with two losses in the first five.
The Wasps would have been particularly frustrated with their difficult two-legged tie against Zira FK in the previous qualifying round, narrowly advancing on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw, including a surprise 1-0 home loss in the first leg despite being the perceived stronger side.
In stark contrast, Elfsborg were dominant in their first-round meeting with Cypriot side Pafos, taking a 3-0 lead in the home leg and comfortably dispatching their opponents 5-2 in the second game to win 8-2 on aggregate.
The Yellow Ones's second-place finish in the Swedish Allsvenskan is their best since also being runners-up in 2020, earning them a place back in European football for just the second time in eight seasons.
Their previous European qualification attempt ended with a 6-3 defeat to Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League playoff round, but with five consecutive wins in all competitions leading up to this tie, Elfsborg will be optimistic about reaching the group stage equivalent of a European tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Since joining the club in June, Oscar Hiljemark has transformed his side into a goalscoring machine, with the Elegants scoring 19 times in his five matches in charge while conceding just six, and he will be looking for more of the same in this one.
Team News
Despite facing difficulties in their matchup with Zira FK, Gura could name a similar side that eventually got over the line on penalties after a 2-1 second-leg win levelled the tie.
Papa Ndiaga Yade started further up the pitch in the second leg after playing in defence in the first game, and Gura was rewarded with Yade scoring in the 77th minute after the opening goal was netted by substitute Ayyoub Allach.
A series of commanding victories and impressive performances from Elfsborg has led Hiljemark to make very few changes to his starting lineup in recent weeks, so we expect a largely similar team to start here as in their last outing.
Jalal Abdulai has scored three goals in his last two matches for the visitors, including two in the last game against Mjallby AIF, and we expect the Ghanian to start here.
The defensive four of Isak Pettersson, Sebastian Holmen, Gustav Henriksson and Terry Yegbe has started all of the five games that Hiljemark has overseen and are likely to play again in this one.
Sheriff Tiraspol possible starting lineup:
Al-Tumi; Pata, Behiratche, Lins, Paulo; Boakye, Kyabou; Yade, Allach, Badolo; Riak
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Pettersson; Holmen, Henriksson, Yegbe; Hedlund, Zeneli, Ouma, Hult; Frick, Baidoo, Abdulai
We say: Sheriff Tiraspol 1-3 Elfsborg
While the hosts have been struggling recently, the visitors have been in great form under their new manager and come into this game as the favourites to secure a lead for the return leg at home.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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