Tuesday, July 15

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Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Champions League clash between Rigas Futbola Skola and Levadia Tallinn, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

With a lead to protect, Rigas Futbola Skola will welcome Levadia Tallinn to LNK Sporta Parks on Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League first qualifying round tie.

RFS will be looking for a seventh consecutive victory in midweek, while the visitors will feel capable of overturning the deficit after scoring at least twice in each of the five games prior to the first leg.

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Match preview

Viktors Morozs's RFS impressively qualified for the Europa League in 2024-25, and their goal will be to go one further and reach UEFA's premier club competition this year.

In last week's first leg, defensive midfielder Stefan Panic remained composed from 12 yards to give the Latvian champions a slim advantage to defend in the first European tie between a Virsliga and Meistriliiga team for 16 years.

However, the manager will be concerned that his players were wasteful in front of goal and that they needed a VAR check on a handball to finally make a breakthrough, especially considering that the opposition's attacking changes caused serious problems for centre-backs Ziga Lipuscek and Herdi Prenga.

On Saturday, Morozs's side followed up their continental triumph by making it six victories on the bounce across all competitions when they returned to domestic action, beating Jelgava 1-0 on the road to progress in the cup.

Knowing that even a draw would be enough to see them through in midweek, the hosts will take confidence from the fact that they have won seven in a row at home, and after seeing their club taste defeat just once on their own turf since the Latvian season started in March, fans will be expecting a positive result.

Meanwhile, Curro Torres's Levadia had their own six-game winning streak and seven-game unbeaten run brought to an end by RFS, but they will believe that their attacking prowess that saw them score 14 goals across their five previous matches could yet turn the tie around.

At the halfway point in the Estonian top flight calendar, the defending Meistriliiga champions are currently top of the table with 47 points, and it would be fair to say they have been the standout performers in the division given that they have scored the most goals while conceding the fewest.

That being said, Torres's men were missing centre-back Rasmus Peetson - who had only recently made a comeback from injury - in the first leg, and his absence was felt even if Victory Sunday Iboro put in a strong showing to deny the likes of Janis Ikaunieks in one-on-one situations.

Despite coming into their midweek clash trailing the hosts, the visitors will take heart from their travelling record that features three straight victories on the road, including a 3-0 triumph over Paide most recently.

However, fans would be forgiven for questioning their team's chances given that they had seen Levadia lose four on the bounce away from home between late April and mid-May, not to mention that Peetson's participation is in doubt once again.

Rigas Futbola Skola Champions League form:

Rigas Futbola Skola form (all competitions):

Levadia Tallinn Champions League form:

Levadia Tallinn form (all competitions):

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Team News

RFS signed goalkeeper Marko Maric this summer, but he had only spent one session training with the squad before the first leg, so Jevgenijs Nerugals was chosen to start.

This time around, Morozs could put his new man into the XI, protected by a back four of Roberts Savalnieks, Herdi Prenga, Ziga Lipuscek and Petr Mares.

As for Levadia, Victor Iboro and Tanel Tammik should start at the heart of Torres's defence with Rasmus Peetson out of action, and the duo will be flanked by Edgar Tur and Michael Schjonning-Larsen at full-back.

Up top, striker Richie Musaba is likely to lead the line once again, supported by Joao Pedro and Mark Oliver Roosnupp out wide, though Bubacarr Tambedou will be on standby to add firepower off the bench.

Rigas Futbola Skola possible starting lineup:

Maric; Savalnieks, Prenga, Lipuscek, Mares; Panic, Njie; Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks, Odisharia; Lemajic

Levadia Tallinn possible starting lineup:

Vallner; Tur, Iboro, Tammik, Schjonning-Larsen; Agyiri, Ainsalu, Mavretic; Pedro, Musaba, Roosnupp

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We say: Rigas Futbola Skola 0-2 Levadia Tallinn (Levadia Tallinn win 2-1 on aggregate)

 

RFS may have won the first leg, but they relied on a penalty and could have gone into the second leg on even terms if the ball had been fumbled into the net during the late goalmouth scramble.

Levadia have also been strong on the road, and their impressive scoring feats could see them win by the necessary two-goal margin on Tuesday.

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

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