Tuesday, July 8

[monks data]

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Champions League clash between Egnatia Rrogozhine and Breidablik, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Albanian champions Egnatia Rrogozhine will welcome Icelandic title holders Breidablik to Egnatia Arena on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League first-round qualifier. 

After falling at this stage last season, Egnatia will be aiming to break new ground by reaching the second round this time around.

---

Match preview

Egnatia are back in Champions League qualifying for the second year running, having won the Albanian Kategoria Superiore for a second consecutive season. 

The Rrogozhine-based club have enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent years, securing their first-ever league title in the 2023-24 season and repeating the feat immediately after. 

However, they have yet to return to competitive action since the end of last season in May, a campaign that concluded with a poor home record, as the team failed to win any of their last seven home games in all competitions and picked up just one victory from their final ten home outings. 

In preparation for this clash, Edlir Tetova’s side played two friendlies in June, defeating CSKA 1948 2-0 and edging past Farul 1-0, and those results will have provided some confidence ahead of Tuesday's tie. 

This will be the first-ever meeting between Egnatia and Breidablik, but with just one win in their last nine home fixtures, the Albanian champions will need to raise their performance levels on home soil. 

Breidablik qualified for this competition after lifting the Icelandic league title last season, and they have previous experience at this level, having reached the second qualifying round in both the 2011-12 and 2022-23 campaigns. 

The Besta deild karla – Iceland's top tier – is already 14 matches in, with Breidablik currently sitting third in the table on 27 points, three behind the leaders, while they are unbeaten in their last five league games, having won three and drawn two. 

Halldor Arnason’s men are also in solid form on the road, avoiding defeat in four of their last five away matches and playing out a 2-2 draw away to Afturelding in their most recent fixture. 

In addition, Breidablik have only failed to score in one of their last 15 away matches, highlighting their ability to consistently find a way through when playing on the road. 

Egnatia Rrogozhine form (all competitions):

Breidablik form (all competitions):

---

Team News

Egnatia have no injury concerns ahead of the tie, with striker Soumaila Bakayoko is likely to lead the line, supported by Regi Lushkja, who was the team’s top scorer last season with 16 goals. 

The defensive pairing of Zamig Aliyev and Abdurraman Fangaj are both expected to feature in the backline. 

Breidablik also boast a clean bill of health, with in-form forward Tobias Thomsen, who has netted eight times this season, expected to spearhead the attack once again. 

Kristinn Steindorsson is likely to feature in midfield, while Asgeir Orrason is set to marshal the defence.

Egnatia Rrogozhine possible starting lineup:

Dajsinani; Sota, Aliyev, Fangaj; Xhemaijli, Meideiros, Aleksi, Zejnullani; Ujka; Luskja, Bakayoko

Breidablik possible starting lineup:

Einarsson; Valgeirason, Margeirsson, Orrason, Yeoman; Johnson; Steindorsson, Einarsson, Omarsson, Thorsteinsson; Thomsen 

---

We say: Egnatia Rrogozhine 2-2 Breidablik

 

This is a tricky fixture for Egnatia, especially as they have not played competitive football for nearly two months and ended last season in poor form at home. 

In contrast, Breidablik come into the tie with momentum on their side, and they are already deep into their domestic campaign, looking like the sharper team, with rhythm and match fitness likely to play in their favour.

Thus, the spoils could be shared between the teams, leaving them with everything to play for in next week's reverse fixture.

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

---

---

 

---

ID:576904:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6623:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

---

Collect / Create New Data