Fresh from winning their first league game of the new season, Red Star Belgrade head into Champions League qualifying action as they prepare to take on Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps.

While Red Star are setting their sights on a third straight season in the Champions League main draw, Lincoln will be looking to make it past the second qualifying round for the first time ever.

Match preview

Lincoln sealed their place in the Champions League qualifiers after winning their fifth straight domestic title – their 10th such success in the past 12 seasons.

Juanjo Bezares and his men were handed Faroe Islands champions Vikingur in the opening qualifying round, and Lincoln passed the test with flying colours as they stormed to a 4-2 aggregate victory.

The Gibraltar giants are now through to the second qualifying round, which is a line they have never crossed in the Champions League.

Lincoln were demolished 7-0 by Qarabag FK at this same stage of the competition last season, while their best effort at making the third round came all the way back in 2017, when they were beaten 3-1 by Celtic.

The Red Imps have only ever entered the main draw of a top European competition on one occasion, with the club progressing to the Europa Conference League group stage back in 2021.

When it comes to European history, Red Star Belgrade certainly have a lot more to shout about.

The 1991 European Cup winners are back in the Champions League qualifiers as they look to seal their place in the competition for the third year running.

Last season, the club lost six of their eight league phase matches but did pick up a couple of wins over Switzerland’s Young Boys and Germany’s VfB Stuttgart.

The Serbian champions kicked off their new season with a dominant 4-0 victory over Javor on Saturday, and the club will be looking for another strong result away in Gibraltar this Tuesday night.

Lincoln Red Imps Champions League form:

W W

Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):

W

Team News

Lincoln Red Imps have signed Serbian goalkeeper Stefan Cupic, who is expected to start against his compatriots on Tuesday.

Tjay De Barr is the club’s leading goalscorer in Europe over the last few years, and he is expected to lead the line in this upcoming qualifying fixture.

Red Star Belgrade have no fresh injury issues as they head into their second competitive game of the new season.

Striker Bruno Duarte has scored 17 goals in 33 appearances for the club and is expected to feature on Tuesday. The same goes for influential South Korean fullback Seol Young-woo.

Lincoln Red Imps possible starting lineup: Santana; Oliva, Munoz, Britto, Gonzalez; Lopes, Garcia, Nano, Torrilla; Villacanas, De Barr

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup: Mateus; Tiknizyan, Veljkovic, Milosavljevic, Young-woo; Ivanic, Krunic; Shlivich, Milson, Katai; Ndiaye

We say: Lincoln Red Imps 1-4 Red Star Belgrade

Lincoln have traditionally lacked quality in order to go any further than the second qualifying round in the Champions League.

Red Star Belgrade are looking to make the main draw for a third straight season, and they are unlikely to be stopped by the Gibraltar champions.

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