Kosovan outfit Drita will travel to Luxembourg to face FC Differdange 03 at the Stade Municipal de la Ville on Tuesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie.

Drita secured a 1-0 win in the first leg thanks to a late goal from Arb Manaj in the 73rd minute, and now aim to protect that narrow advantage as they look to reach the second qualifying round for the very first time.

Match preview

The first leg in Kosovo was dominated by Drita, as Differdange offered little going forward and will need to show more attacking intent at home if they are to turn the tie around.

This season marks a historic first appearance for Differdange in the Champions League qualifiers, though the club was in the Conference League last season but failed to progress past the second qualifying round.

Their most notable run in European competition came back in 2007, when they featured in the now-defunct Intertoto Cup group stage – the only time they have ever played beyond the early qualifying rounds of a UEFA tournament.

Home form in Europe has been an issue for the Luxembourg side, having won just one of their last seven home matches in European competition – although that solitary victory came in their most recent home fixture, a 1-0 win over Ordabasy.

Drita, meanwhile, are making their third appearance in Champions League qualifying, but they have never progressed past the first round.

They do have some experience against Luxembourg opposition, having faced F91 Dudelange in the 2018-19 Europa League second qualifying round, narrowly losing 3-2 on aggregate.

However, the Intellectuals have also managed just one win from their last seven games in European qualifiers overall, that being a 2-1 victory over Icelandic side Breidablik in the 2024-25 Conference League.

The Kosovan champions will take confidence not just from their first-leg win, but they will need to be more clinical in attack if they are to see out the tie.

FC Differdange 03 Champions League form:

FC Differdange 03 form (all competitions):

Drita Champions League form:

Drita form (all competitions):

Team News

For Differdange, changes could be on the cards after their frontline failed to make an impact in Kosovo, with late substitute Andreas Buch in contention to start on Tuesday night.

The attacking trio of Arthur Abreu, Rafa Pinto, and Samir Hadji led the line in the first leg but may not all keep their places.

Drita will continue with Faton Maloku in goal after first-choice goalkeeper Eron Isufi was ruled out due to injury. 

Match-winner Manaj, who returned to the scoresheet in the opening leg, is likely to retain his spot in a two-man forward line alongside Almir Ajzeraj, as the Kosovan side look to strike early and kill off the tie.

FC Differdange 03 possible starting lineup:

Felipe; Brusco, Bedouret, D'Anzico,; Franzoni, Jakobi, Reis, Lempereur; Abreu, Buch, Pinto

Drita possible starting lineup:

Maloku; B. Krasniqi, Bejtulai, Mesa, Ovouka; Dabiqaj, Balaj, Limaj, Krasniqi; Ajzeraj, Manaj

We say: FC Differdange 03 1-1 Drita

With only a narrow 1-0 lead separating the sides, the tie remains finely balanced, but Drita will aim to protect their advantage, while Differdange must take more risks going forward to salvage their European campaign.

Although the hosts will push for a result, Drita’s organisation and momentum from the first leg could see them do just enough to hold on.

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

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