KF Ballkani host Slavia Prague at The Fadil Vokrri Stadium on Thursday night as they look to keep their slim chance of qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League alive.
After two consecutive 4-0 wins, the Czech side will be hoping that they can carry that momentum into this fixture.
Match preview
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Being the first-ever side from Kosovo to reach the group stages in a European club competition, there was not much expectation for Ballkani's campaign and the fact that they still have an outside chance of finishing second in the group is some achievement.
They drew their latest league game against Dukagjini but they still sit second in the Kosovan Superliga, four points off the top with two games in hand on the side above them. They have only lost once this season, which was to Drita, who are at the top of the table.
Defender Armend Thaqi has scored three times in their four Conference League games, including a goal in their 2-1 defeat to Sivasspor in their last game in this competition. Ilir Daja's side certainly know how to find the net, as they have scored in each of their four games in their first group-stage campaign.
Conceding goals has been an issue, however, which is to be expected as the quality of opposition they are facing in the Conference League is on the whole much higher than they face in their own league.
They have only conceded seven times in 11 games in the league, whereas in this competition they have already conceded nine times in just four games.
Ballkani will be looking to put on a good performance in front of a home crowd, as every night they compete in this competition is a historic night for their fans and they will be hopeful they can secure a win to potentially leave themselves with a slight chance of progressing in this competition.
In the last meeting between the two sides, Slavia Prague won 3-2, with all five goals coming in an eventful first half when Jindrich Trpisovsky's side came from behind twice. Lukas Masopust scored the winning goal in the 41st minute of the match to secure the three points for Slavia Prague.
In the Czech league, Cervenobili have won their last two fixtures, with a 4-0 cup win also to add to that form. The cup win was followed by another 4-0 win on Sunday against bitter rivals Sparta Prague, who now sit five points behind second-placed Slavia, who in turn are four points behind first-placed Viktoria Plzen.
Key to their success has been their scoring ability, with Trpsovsky's side scoring six or more times in three league games this season. Stanislav Tecl has found the net eight times in the league in just nine starts but has yet to score in the Conference League.
After two consecutive European games against CFR Cluj when they did not score, they will be hoping that Tecl finds his form in this competition, and the same is true for Nigerian Peter Olayinka, who has scored twice for Slavia Prague in Europe.
Like their opponents, if Slavia Prague can win this game, they still may have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, depending on the other game in the group and their performance on the last matchday of the competition.
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Team News
It will be interesting to see how Ilir Daja sets up his team in this fixture, as in their previous Europa Conference League game they lost using a 5-3-2, but only narrowly.
However, when they played a more attacking 4-5-1, they won but conceded three goals in a 4-3 victory.
If they stick to the five at the back, Egzon Sinani will most likely be on the bench and not be part of the back five, despite being part of the four-at-the-back system. This would also potentially give Thaqi more license to go forward, which he benefitted from when they last played this formation.
After scoring in their last league game against Sparta Prague, Masopust is likely to keep his place in the team, with him replacing either Tyler Dorley or Ibrahim Traore.
Tecl will lead the line, hoping to open his scoring account in the competition, with Olayinka supporting him from the midfield.
Slavia Prague could match the 5-3-2 of their opponents but it is more likely that they will stick to the 4-2-3-1 which has worked well for them, like in their last league fixture.
KF Ballkani possible starting lineup:
Frasheri; Potoku, Thaci, Jashanica, Dellova, Thaqi; Zyba, Emerllahu, Korenica; Rrahmani, Krasniqi
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Kolar; Jurasek, Ousou, Kacharaba, Dorley; Tiehi, Masopust, Olayinka, Usor, Sor; Tecl
We say: KF Ballkani 0-3 Slavia Prague
With Slavia Prague being in good form, we would expect them to win the game comfortably, although Ballkani may put up a fight for most of the game, especially in front of their own fans.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
