The Europa Conference League round of 16 gets underway on Thursday night as Lech Poznan of Poland host Djurgardens IF of Sweden in what looks set to be an intriguing contest at Stadion Poznan.
Poznan navigated a tricky playoff tie with Norwegians Bodo/Glimt to reach this stage, whereas Djurgardens earned a place at this point by topping their Conference League group in November.
Match preview
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Lech Poznan have endured a difficult run to this stage of the competition after being placed in Group C with last year's Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal, as well as Israeli outfit Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Austria Wien.
The Polish club passed their group-stage test with flying colours however, finishing only behind the Spanish giants in the four-team standings and losing just one of their six matches in the section.
John van den Brom's men even managed a sensational success over Villarreal in November courtesy of a brace from Michal Skoras and a Kristoffer Velde strike, showing how Poznan are a side the tournament favourites need to be wary of.
A two-legged affair with the exciting Bodo/Glimt of Norway in the playoff round was Poznan's reward for finishing second in their group, and a Mikael Ishak goal in the second half of the second leg secured the Poles' spot in the last 16.
Djurgardens resume their Europa Conference League campaign following the end of the 2022 Allsvenskan season in which they finished second in the standings behind Hacken, making it now three years without a league crown for the club.
The Swedish side's venture into the Conference League has been a very successful one so far, with Kim Bergstrand's team finishing top of Group F with an impressive 16 points, meaning the Iron Stoves and West Ham United are the only sides to go unbeaten within the group stage.
Goals were shared around the team in the group stage with Emmanuel Banda, Gustav Wikheim and ex-Sunderland man Joel Asoro all netting twice - all of their strikes combined just about top the five Poznan striker Ishak has managed in the competition so far.
Having failed to escape the qualifying rounds of the Europa League in recent seasons, the Conference League is providing Djurgardens with the opportunity of being major players at the latter stages of a European competition - something supporters will be very excited about.
Team News
Lech Poznan defender Lubomir Satka is a doubt for Thursday's clash with Djurgardens as the 27-year-old continues to recover from a muscle injury sustained in the latter stages of January, although the centre-back has not featured for the club since November.
Antonio Milic's involvement in this game could be in question after the defender was substituted at the half-time break in the 5-0 win over Lechia Gdansk on Friday night, meaning Bartosz Salamon could be introduced into the XI.
Djurgardens have been involved in Swedish Cup action over the past few weeks as they prepare for the 2023 Allsvenskan season, with Magnus Eriksson set to start in Poland on Thursday after scoring a brace against Brommapojkarna on Saturday.
Bergstrand will be keen to keep the momentum from an unbeaten group-stage campaign going in Poland, so expect a similar side to the one who beat Shamrock Rovers 1-0 back in November.
Lech Poznan possible starting lineup:
Bednarek; Pereira, Salamon, Dagerstal, Rebocho; Karlstrom, Kvekveskiri, Loua, Sousa, Skoras; Ishak
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Danielson, Ekdal, Andersson; Finndell, Schuller, Eriksson; Asoro, Holmberg, Wikheim
We say: Lech Poznan 1-0 Djurgardens IF
Lech Poznan have defeated some tricky opponents on route to this round-of-16 tie and will be confident of gaining a second-leg advantage by earning victory in front of their raucous home support on Thursday.
Djurgardens are in the middle of their pre-season currently, which could hinder their ability to hit the ground running in Poland, but we believe the tie will not be out of their reach after proceedings at Stadion Poznan.
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