The battle for Champions League qualification continues this Tuesday as Latvia’s Rigas Futbola Skola host Swedish giants Malmo FF in the first leg of their second qualifying round.

While RFS are looking to reach the league phase of a major European tournament for just the second year running, Malmo are hoping to finally end their four-year wait for European football at the elite level.

Match preview

Latvian powerhouse RFS have made some serious noise on the continental stage over the last three years, and it appears they are not done yet.

The Riga-based club made history when they qualified for the Europa Conference League group stage back in 2022, going on to pick up a couple of notable draws against Istanbul Basaksehir and AFC Fiorentina.

Just a couple of years later, RFS made more history as they stormed through qualifiers to seal their place in the Europa League main draw – a competition which saw them beat European giants Ajax Amsterdam on home soil.

Viktors Morozs and his men will now be looking to cause another major earthquake in continental football, as the club looks to continue their eight-match winning run on Tuesday night against Malmo.

Speaking of the Swedes, the former European Cup finalists come into Tuesday’s fixture with some serious momentum under their wings.

Malmo are unbeaten in seven games across all competitions and will be looking to secure their fifth straight win when they make the short trip to Riga.

Henrik Rydstrom’s side destroyed Georgia’s Iberia 1999 in the previous qualifying round, winning the tie 6-2 on aggregate. Malmo will be looking for a repeat of that result as they look to take a big step towards their Champions League return.

The Swedish giants have not tasted main draw action since their group stage appearance back in 2021-22 – a campaign which saw them finish bottom of the group with just one point to their name.

Last season, Malmo qualified for the Europa League but ended up finishing 31st after winning just one of their eight league phase matches.

Rigas Futbola Skola Champions League form:

W W

Rigas Futbola Skola form (all competitions):

W W W W W W

Malmo Champions League form: 

W W

Malmo form (all competitions):

D D W W W W

Team News

RFS have no fresh injury concerns ahead of their crunch qualifying clash on Tuesday night, meaning head coach Morozs can field his strongest side.

Stefan Panic scored the decisive goals in the previous qualifying round against Levadia and is expected to feature again. Janis Ikaunieks, who was the top scorer during the 2024 Latvian season, is likely to lead the line.

Malmo, on the other hand, could be without Andrej Djuric, who was subbed off with cramp on his debut against Oster last time out.

Lasse Berg Johnsen is another doubt after missing out on squad selection for that league win over Oster, while Johan Karlsson is available after recovering from a slight hamstring issue.

Rigas Futbola Skola possible starting lineup: Maric; Savalnieks, Stuglis, Lipuscek, Zelenkovs; Ikaunieks, Njie, Panic, Odisaria; Lemajic, Ikaunieks

Malmo possible starting lineup: Olsen; Busanello, Jansson, Rosler, Zatterstrom; Karlsson, Rosengren, Johnsen, Berg; Ali, Gudjohnsen

We say: Rigas Futbola Skola 1-1 Malmo

Over the years, RFS have proved they can hang with the big boys on the European stage, and they will certainly fancy their chances against Malmo in this opening leg.

The Swedish side are stronger on paper, but we expect RFS to give them a tough test in Riga. With that in mind, we are backing a 1-1 draw.

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

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