Boasting a slender advantage from the first leg of their Champions League first-round qualifying battle, KF Ballkani endeavour to complete the job against UE Santa Coloma on Tuesday evening.
The Kosovar top-flight champions left it late to secure a 2-1 success in their opening battle last week and will be rewarded with a second-round battle with Midtjylland should they maintain or add to their advantage.
Match preview
Akin to Ollie Watkins in England's Euro 2024 semi-final win over the Netherlands, Ballkani attacker Bernard Karrica was his side's 90th-minute saviour in Andorra last week, where the three-time Kosovar champions came from behind to gain a narrow opening advantage.
Youssef El Ghazoui struck first for Tuesday's visitors on the 22-minute mark, only for Lindon Emerllahu to dispatch a penalty on the stroke of half time, and just when a draw appeared to be on the cards, Karrica popped up with the critical moment in the dying embers.
By prevailing in front of the 445-strong crowd in Andorra la Vella, Ballkani - who won their third straight Football Superleague of Kosovo title in the 2023-24 campaign - are just 90 minutes away from a first-ever two-legged win in Europe's premier competition.
The Gabriels have fallen at the first hurdle of Champions League qualifying in their previous two attempts, going down to FK Zalgiris in 2022-23 and suffering a 4-2 aggregate loss to Ludogorets Razgrad last year, although on both occasions, they made it through to the group stage of the Europa Conference League.
However, new ground will be broken for Ilir Daja's side if they can reach the second round of Champions League qualifying for the first time in their history this week, although they will not be doing so at their regular venue.
Indeed, Ballkani's Suva Reka City Stadium did not meet UEFA requirements, meaning that the second leg will instead be played at the 5,000-seater Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, offering Santa Coloma the slightest crumb of encouragement as they bid to snap a miserable sequence of European setbacks.
First-time winners of Andorra's Primera Divisio in the 2023-24 campaign - having previously achieved runners-up finishes in 2010 and 2014 - the Squirrels completed a famous league and cup double in the spring, also adding Copa Constitucio title number four to their name.
Continental affairs have always ended in dejection for Andorra's champions, though, as Santa Coloma have now taken part in 17 games across Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League qualifying, and they have lost all 17 of them.
After suffering seven straight eliminations in the first round of Europa League qualifying, Santa Coloma were thrashed 5-1 over two legs by Icelandic powerhouses Breidablik in their Europa Conference League opener in 2022-23, before qualifying for the preliminary Champions League rounds for the first time.
However, Boris Anton's men will be condemned to yet another premature continental exit should they fail to turn the tide on Tuesday, where they will seek vengeance on the side that ended their 23-game unbeaten run in all tournaments, a streak stretching all the way back to December 2023.
Team News
While four Ballkani players picked up yellow cards in the first leg, none of the hosts' troops left the field nursing any injuries, so Daja will surely see no need to make any alterations to his starting lineup for the return fixture.
Still going strong at the age of 38, number one Enea Kolici guards the sticks for Ballkani, while Arber Potoku dons the captain's armband from left-back.
The Gabriels lost 15-goal Nazmi Gripshi - the third-highest scorer in the top flight last season - to FC Astana a few weeks ago, but his replacement, Sunday Adetunji, was not named to the squad for the Champions League qualifiers.
Visitors Santa Coloma also came through the first leg unscathed on the physical front, and having only been denied a hard-fought draw in the 90th minute, head coach Anton is unlikely to make wholesale changes either.
Twenty-five-year-old centre-back Christian Garcia - who has won 11 caps for Andorra, including two against England - skippers the side, but Paraguay's Franco de Jesus could offer an alternative option up front.
KF Ballkani possible starting lineup:
Kolici; Smajli, Halili, Thaqi, Potoku; Ismajlgeci, Emerllahu, Queven; Hamidi, Tolaj, Karrica
UE Santa Coloma possible starting lineup:
Ruiz; Lopez, Chete, Garcia, Daku; Mohedano, El Ghazoui, Molina; Joaquinete, De Jesus, Virgili
We say: KF Ballkani 1-0 UE Santa Coloma (Ballkani win 3-1 on aggregate)
Santa Coloma have proven sturdy in the defensive third over the past seven months, albeit not to the level of finally picking up their first positive result in European football last Tuesday, where Ballkini's greater attacking prowess finally came to the fore.
While the Gabriels will not have the luxury of playing at their regular home, they should not be in any danger of losing their aggregate advantage and can strike once to settle any nerves before celebrating their progression to round two.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
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