Looking to keep their unbeaten record in the league phase intact, FC Midtjylland will welcome Belgian outfit Union SG to MCH Arena for a Europa League battle on Thursday evening.
The Wolves have endured a poor run of domestic form in the build-up to this continental contest, whilst Les Unionistes are experiencing a winless run.
Match preview
Since their most recent fixture in the revamped league phase of the 2024-25 Europa League, Midtjylland have endured back-to-back defeats in the Danish Superliga, losing 2-0 at Brondby on October 6 prior to the international break before coming out on the losing side of a five-goal thriller versus SonderjyskE on Sunday afternoon.
Following a Lirim Qamili double for the hosts on the weekend, the Wolves fought back valiantly in the second period and restored parity in the contest momentarily courtesy of efforts from Jan Kuchta and Mads Bech, but a late strike from Alexander Lyng ultimately proved enough for the strugglers to gain maximum points.
After 12 matches of their domestic schedule, Midtjylland are currently occupying second position in the Superliga standings, level on points with league leaders Copenhagen, who are flying the Danish flag in the Conference League this season against the likes of Real Betis from Spain.
The Wolves have collected four points from their first two matches in the league phase of the Europa League, forcing Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim to settle for a share of the spoils on September 25 before goals from Franculino and Edward Chilufya secured a comfortable success over Maccabi Tel Aviv on October 3.
After two gameweeks of the revamped Europa League, Union SG remain winless and with just the single point from a possible four, with the Belgian side losing 2-1 to Turkish powerhouses Fenerbahce on September 26 before playing out a goalless draw against Bodo/Glimt prior to the international pause.
Spanning across the Belgian Pro League and continental adventures, Les Unionistes have only tasted victory on the single occasion during the last nine matches, meaning that the visitors to Denmark are undoubtedly the underdogs heading into Thursday night's European battle.
Despite seeing less of the ball on Saturday afternoon in the Pro League clash with Gent, Union SG created more of the clear-cut chances but were unable to breach the net of visiting goalkeeper Davy Roef, who produced a stellar display to ensure that the contest ended goalless.
Unlike a typical team competing on the continental stage, Sebastien Pocognoli's troops are struggling massively on the domestic scene so far this season, with Thursday's visitors to MCH Arena sitting 10th in the Pro League table after winning just three of their opening 11 matches.
Team News
Scoring in the win over Maccabi Tel Aviv last time out in the Europa League, Chilufya is unavailable for Midtjylland on Thursday night due to a knock sustained earlier in the month.
The Wolves also remain without the services of defender Kevin Mbabu, with the former Fulham and Wolfsburg man expected back in a couple of weeks.
As a result, 27-year-old Joel Andersson is likely to remain on right side of the hosts' backline, despite the conceding of three goals at SonderjyskE on the weekend.
Union SG have a major long-term absentee in the form of Henok Teklab, who is expected to be sidelined until the New Year with a broken leg.
Les Unionistes are monitoring the ankle injury of Elton Kabangu, with day-to-day decisions being made on the availability of the striker ahead of Thursday's match.
FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:
Olafsson; Andersson, Diao, Bech, Bak; Osorio, Sorensen, Askildsen, Simsir; Franculino, Kutcha
Union SG possible starting lineup:
Moris; Mac Allister, Burgess, Machida; Castro-Montes, Niang, Lazare, Vanhoutte, Rodriguez; Boufal, Sadiki
We say: FC Midtjylland 1-1 Union SG
With both sides struggling in their respective domestic leagues over recent weeks, we are expecting a close-fought affair on Thursday night at MCH Arena.
Midtjylland have home advantage but also a raft of injury concerns, so we feel that Union SG can snatch a point on their continental travels.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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