The first qualifying round of the 2024-25 Champions League campaign kicks off on Tuesday with UE Santa Coloma hosting KF Ballkani in the first leg.
The winner of this first qualifying round will face Denmark's FC Midtjylland in the second qualifying round later this month.
Match preview
UE Santa Coloma are set to make history with their first Champions League appearance after they were crowned Andorran champions for the first time last season.
The Esquirols finished three points clear of runners-up Inter Escaldes, winning 20, drawing six, and losing just one of their 27 league matches.
Ramon Caldere's men also completed the domestic double for the first time in their history, defeating Pas de la Casa 1-0 in the Copa Constitucio final back in May.
Although the Andorran side have not played competitively since the cup final, they did face England Championship side, QPR, in a warm-up match on Friday, losing 2-0.
UE Santa Coloma will be hoping for a better result when they face Ballkani in what will be their ninth appearance in European competition, having participated in the Europa League qualifiers seven times and the Europa Conference League qualifiers once.
However, they have never progressed past the first qualifying round in any of their previous eight European outings, losing every game while scoring just four goals and conceding a hefty 46.
Ballkani continued their dominance of the Kosovan first division last season, winning a third consecutive Superliga e Kosoves title, while also securing the Kupa e Kosoves to achieve the club's first-ever domestic double.
The Xhebrailat will be participating in Champions League qualifying for the third time, having been eliminated in the first round on both previous occasions.
Unlike the hosts, the visitors have experience progressing beyond the qualifying round in European competitions, even reaching the group stage of the Europa Conference League twice, including last season.
Although the Kosovan league is currently on break, the reigning champions played two warm-up matches last month, failing to win either – drawing one and losing the other.
A worrying trend for Ballkani is their lack of goals in recent European away games, as they failed to scored in their last four such outings, conceding five goals in the process.
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
Team News
UE Coloma have tried to improve their squad ahead of the new season, bringing in 10 players across all departments.
Centre-backs Chete, Pablo Lluch and Pedro Correia joined the club, while Victor Tellado was signed in attack.
Meanwhile the visitors have made some signings to strengthen their team ahead of the new season, including defenders Merlind Kodra and Geralb Smajli.
The hosts also signed midfielder Eris Abedini and Nigerian attacker Sunday Adetunji, and they could play a part in Tuesday's clash.
UE Santa Coloma possible starting lineup:
Ruiz; Garcia, Puentes, Ribeiro, Blasco; Castells, El Ghazoui; L'Koucha, Modric, Joaquinete; de Jesus
KF Ballkani possible starting lineup:
Kolici; Halili, Jashanica, Potoku, Thaqi; Abedini, Limaj, Kryeziu, Tolaj, Giovanni; Adetunji
We say: UE Santa Coloma 0-1 KF Ballkani
UE Santa Coloma have never won a European qualifying match and have struggled to even find the net. In contrast, Ballkani have progressed past this stage before and have the necessary experience to navigate this encounter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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