Preview: Royal Antwerp vs. Omonia - prediction, team news, lineups

Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp will look to overturn a two-goal deficit on Thursday, when they play host to Omonia in the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie.

A strong second half saw Thursday's visitors take a comfortable lead in Cyprus, but they will know that they have far more to do if they are to see out the aggregate win.

Match preview

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As a result of their third-placed finish in the Belgian top flight last season, Royal Antwerp were granted entry to the Europa League at the playoff round, meaning only one two-legged affair stood between them and the group stage.

That has not gone to plan so far though, as they return to Belgium following a 4-2 defeat to Omonia in the first leg of the playoff tie, despite Benson Manuel giving them a lead in the first half.

The hosts quickly hit three goals to turn the game on its head, and while Koji Miyoshi pulled a goal back on the hour mark, the Cypriot outfit's lead was again doubled in the dying minutes to give Brian Priske's side a particularly tough task in the second leg.

That continued a difficult start to the season for The Great Old, as they sit on just four points from their opening four games in the Belgian First Division A, with the season starting with back-to-back league defeats at the hands of Mechelen and Kortrijk.

Upon their return to the Bosuilstadion, Priske's men will look to defy the odds and overturn the deficit in order to book their spot in the Europa League group stage, although they face a difficult test.

The visitors arrive with a two-goal lead to defend, after a Loizos Loizou brace and an Andronikos Kakoullis goal put them in a dominant position and Iyayi Atiemwen converted a late penalty to ensure they come into the away leg with a cushion.

That came after Henning Berg's men scraped past Estonian side Flora in the third qualifying round, with a Marinos Tzionis goal putting them ahead on home turf.

The lead was then doubled on the stroke of half time in the away leg thanks to a Kakoullis goal, but their opponents quickly halved the deficit through Rauno Sappinen before he hit his second in the dying minutes to take the tie to extra time.

With no change to the scoreline in the additional 30 minutes, the clash went to a penalty shootout, and Omonia prevailed as Fabiano denied Sten Reinkort in the deciding spot kick.

Despite crashing out of qualifying for the Champions League following a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, they will now be confident of reaching this year's Europa League group stage, although the job is far from finished yet as they face a tough trip to Belgium with a lead to protect.

Team News

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Royal Antwerp come into the game without attackers Sander Coopman and Michael Frey, as the pair continue to miss out through injury.

However, they recently added quality to the side with the capture of midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who returns to his home nation after successful spells in the Italian top flight with Cagliari, Roma and Inter Milan, spanning the last decade.

They boast an accomplished back line, with Premier League champion Richie de Laet expected to partner up with former Aston Villa centre-back Bjorn Engels at the heart of the defence.

At the other end of the pitch, the line should be led by Johannes Eggestein with the support of wingers Benson Manuel and Michel-Ange Balikwisha, while Koji Miyoshi could also be deployed after coming off the bench to score in the first leg, given their need for a result on Thursday.

Berg deployed a largely expected XI for the first leg, with Kakoullis and Fotios Papoulis leading the line in a 4-4-2 system.

Jordi Gomez offers plenty of quality and experience in the middle, and he should again be joined in a strong midfield unit by Mix Diskerud, Fouad Bachirou and winger Loizos Loizou, who hit a crucial brace in the home leg.

Royal Antwerp possible starting lineup:
Butez; Bataille, Engels, De Laet, Vines; Nainggolan, Gerkens, Miyoshi; Manuel, Eggestein, Balikwisha

Omonia possible starting lineup:
Fabiano; Shehu, Lang, Panayiotou, Lecjaks; Loizou, Gomez, Bachirou, Diskerud; Kakoullis, Papoulis

We say: Royal Antwerp 3-2 Omonia (Omonia win 6-5 on aggregate)

Royal Antwerp came into the tie as favourites after reaching the round of 32 in last year's competition, and we certainly do not rule them out of progressing.

However, we see the visitors having enough to come out as narrow aggregate winners given their two-goal lead, as they will have chances to catch an attacking Antwerp side on the break.