Both looking to secure a spot in the top eight of the League Phase, Jagiellonia Bialystok and NK Olimpija Ljubljana will clash at Chorten Arena in the Conference League on Thursday night.
Jaga suffered their maiden defeat in this season's competition earlier in the month, whilst the Dragons were also beaten during gameweek five on their travels in the Czech Republic.
Match preview
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Finishing in a lowly 14th place during the 2022-23 campaign of the Polish Ekstraklasa, Jagiellonia Bialystok have enjoyed somewhat of a fairytale storyline over the past year, winning the domestic crown for the first time in 2023-24 and subsequently qualifying for European competition.
Not overwhelmed by the bright lights of the continental stage, Jaga have made a positive start to life in UEFA's third-tier club competition and currently sit eighth in the Conference League standings, meaning that a victory on Thursday would likely be enough to take them straight into the last 16, avoiding the playoffs.
After commencing their Conference League adventure with four matches unbeaten, Jagiellonia suffered their maiden loss of the schedule on December 12, when the Polish outfit were defeated on the road by Czech Republic minnows Mlada Boleslav, who are at danger of missing out on the top 24 all together.
That defeat at Lokotrans Arena ended a marvellous 17-game unbeaten run across all competitions for Jaga, although they are still not top of the pile in Ekstraklasa heading into the Christmas break, with Adrian Siemieniec's troops lying three points behind pacesetters Lech Poznan.
After netting 14 goals during Jagiellonia's title-winning season of 2023-24, 34-year-old Jesus Imaz is continuing to age like a fine wine in the attack of Thursday's hosts, with the exciting Spaniard bagging 15 goals already this term, including one strike in the Conference League.
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Sitting pretty at the summit of the Slovenian top flight - six points ahead of Maribor in second - Olimpija Ljubljana are proving their credentials on both the domestic and continental scene this season, with Thursday's visitors potentially one result away from advancing into the Conference League round of 16.
That being said, the Dragons will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing evening on home soil last Thursday, when a brace from Kazeem Olaigbe - alongside strikes from Felipe Augusto and Kevin Denkey - fired Belgian outfit Cercle Brugge to a convincing 4-1 success at Stadion Stozice.
Having lost just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions, it is not a surprise to find Olimpija Ljubljana well in the race for an automatic spot for the round of 16, with the Slovenian outfit currently sitting in 14th, just the single point behind Jagiellonia in eighth.
The Dragons have endured mixed form on the road in the Conference League this season, losing 2-1 at German underdogs Heidenheim in early October before a resounding success in Finland during gameweek three, when goals from Marko Brest and Peter Agba sealed maximum points at the expense of HJK Helsinki.
Providing the match-winning assist during Olimpija Ljubljana's most recent European victory over Larne of Northern Ireland on November 28, Raul Florucz represents the main source of attacking prowess for the Slovenians, scoring 12 goals across 24 competitive appearances so far in 2024-25.
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Team News
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Earning a straight red card during the Conference League defeat last Thursday, Jagiellonia's Adrian Dieguez will be suspended for the final match of the League Phase.
Due to the 28-year-old's absence, Mateusz Skrzypczak will require a new partner at centre-back, with Jetmir Haliti representing the most likely candidate for that role.
Jaga remain without the services of promising youngster Damian Wojdakowski, who has not featured so far during the 2024-25 term due to a cruciate ligament injury.
The two sides are even on the suspension front ahead of this clash, with Olimpija Ljubljana's Thalisson seeing red during the heavy defeat to Cercle Brugge last week.
With that in mind, 21-year-old Agba has a better chance of retaining his spot in the XI, whilst Argentinian Agustin Doffo is now almost assured of his starting berth.
Jagiellonia Bialystok possible starting lineup:
Abramowicz; Sacek, Skrzypczak, Haliti, Stojinovic; Imaz, Kubicki, Nene; Hansen, Churlinov, Pululu
NK Olimpija Ljubljana possible starting lineup:
Vidovsek; Ristic, Ratnik, Muhamedbegovic; Silva, Agba, Doffo, Sualehe; Blanco, Brest, Durdov
We say: Jagiellonia Bialystok 1-0 NK Olimpija Ljubljana
Losing for the first time since the middle of September last week, Jagiellonia will be raring to get back winning ways on home soil to book their spot in the last 16.
Olimpija Ljubljana realistically require maximum points in Poland to have any chance of making the top eight, however we feel that the Dragons will suffer a narrow defeat at Chorten Arena.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
