The battle for Europa League football continues this Thursday night as Slovenia’s NK Celje take on Cypriot giants AEK Larnaca in the first leg of their second qualifying round.

The Counts are looking to reach the main draw of a major European competition for the second season running, while the Yellow and Green are looking to progress past the qualifying stage for the first time in three years.

Match preview

Celje enjoyed their best ever European run last season, as the club not only qualified for the Europa Conference League but also progressed all the way to the quarter-finals.

The Slovenian side toppled the likes of Istanbul Basaksehir, The New Saints, APOEL FC and FC Lugano before being edged out by Fiorentina in the last eight.

Having tasted elite European football, Celje will now be looking for more as their Europa League qualifying campaign continues this Thursday night.

The club are somewhat fortunate to have made the second round considering they were pushed to the limit by Azerbaijan’s Sabah Baku last week, with the Slovenian outfit needing extra time to seal a 6-5 aggregate win.

The Counts have since backed up their big European victory with a win over Slovenian powerhouse NK Maribor in their first league match.

AEK Larnaca are yet to taste domestic football this season, but the Cypriot outfit were certainly tested in their first round clash against Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade.

The Yellow and Green needed extra time and penalties in order to see off Partizan’s challenge and set up Thursday’s trip to Slovenia.

AEK are looking to qualify for the main draw of a major European tournament for the first time since the 2022-23 season, which saw them compete in the Europa League group stage and the Europa Conference League knockout stage.

Imanol Idiakez and his men have a lot of history on the continent, and they will be looking to continue that trend when they travel to the Z’dezele Stadium this Thursday night.

Celje Europa League form:

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Celje form (all competitions):

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AEK Larnaca Europa League form:

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Team News

Celje will be without last season’s top scorer, Armandas Kucys, who is sidelined with a cruciate ligament tear and is expected to be out of action for some time.

Influential goalkeeper Simon Sluga is expected to start, while forward Franko Kovacevic will fill the hole up front.

AEK Larnaca will be without Enzo Cabrera for Thursday’s game, with the player struggling with a muscle injury.

Giorgos Naoum is also a doubt, with the 24-year-old missing both legs against Partizan at the start of the month.

Celje possible starting lineup: Sluga; Karnicnik, Tutyskinas, Vuklisevic, Nieto; Kvesic, Zabukovnik, Avdyli; Sturm, Kovacevic, Iosifov

AEK Larnaca possible starting lineup: Alomerovic; Garcia, Roberge, Milicevic, Ekpolo; Pons, Ledes, Rohden, Chacon; Angielski, Rubio

We say: Celje 1-1 AEK Larnaca

Both teams struggled in the first qualifying round, and both are rather well-matched as we head to Thursday’s opening leg.

Celje will be determined to make a strong start at home, but AEK Larnaca are no pushovers, and we are backing them to force a draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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