Copenhagen will take on Kilmarnock at the Parken on Thursday evening as the two teams battle it out in the first game of their two-legged showdown in the Europa Conference League playoff qualifying round.
The hosts narrowly progressed past Banik Ostrava in the last round, winning 2-1 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw, while the visitors defeated Tromso 3-2 over two legs in their third qualifying round tie.
Match preview
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Copenhagen suffered an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign, finishing third in the Danish Superliga, four points behind champions Midtjylland, bringing an end to a two-year streak of league titles.
They did, however, enjoy success in Europe, qualifying for the Champions League group stage with wins against Breidablik Kopavogur, Sparta Prague and Rakow in the qualifying rounds.
Despite being drawn in a difficult group alongside Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Galatasaray, where they were widely expected to finish last, Copenhagen defied expectations and amazingly finished in second, progressing into the knockout rounds.
Jacob Neestrup's side faced another challenging draw in the round of 16, going up against reigning champions Manchester City, and they were comprehensively beaten 6-2 on aggregate.
After the overall disappointment of last campaign, Neestrup's men had a positive pre-season ahead of 2024-25, winning three, losing one and drawing one of their five friendly games.
Copenhagen have since enjoyed a brilliant start to the campaign, remaining unbeaten after nine matches across all competitions, managing six wins in that time.
They were only able to muster a draw from their last match against Viborg in the league, and Neestrup will be aiming for a much better performance here.
Kilmarnock have been on the rise since their shock relegation in 2020-21, managing to earn promotion in the first attempt with a Scottish Championship title victory.
They narrowly survived relegation in their return to the Scottish Premiership, finishing the regular season on 31 points and in 11th place before moving into 10th in the post-split season, six points above 11th-placed Ross County.
Derek McInnes's side followed that with a phenomenal 2023-24 campaign, finishing fourth in the Scottish top-flight with 56 points from 38 fixtures, securing their highest league finish since placing third in 2018-19.
That result also saw them achieve their first chance at qualifying for a European competition since they lost to Connah's Quay Nomads in the Europa League first qualifying round.
Kilmarnock have had a tough beginning to this campaign, only winning one of their opening seven matches across all competitions, leaving them with little confidence heading into this one.
Team News
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The hosts could be without Andreas Cornelius, Jordan Larsson, Nicolai Boilesen, Rodrigo Huescas, Roony Bardghji, Thomas Delaney and Viktor Claesson for this game due to injury issues.
Orri Oskarsson has scored six goals in nine games across all competitions this season, and the 19-year-old is expected to start up front in this one.
Kyle Magennis is expected to be the only absentee for the visitors due to a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the side since December, though he is likely to return later this month.
Kilmarnock have struggled for goals so far this campaign, failing to score in the league and netting just four times in seven matches, leaving them relying on Kyle Vassell and Bruce Anderson to improve in front of goal.
Copenhagen possible starting lineup:
Trott; Diks, Vavro, Garananga, Meling; Lerager, Jensen, Froholdt; Achouri, Oskarsson, Elyounoussi
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
McCrorie; Mayo, Wright, Findlay, Bainbridge; Armstrong, Lyons, Donnelly, Kennedy; Vassell, Anderson
We say: Copenhagen 2-0 Kilmarnock
Copenhagen have enjoyed a stellar start to the season, while Kilmarnock have struggled to find their feet in their opening matches, suggesting the hosts will secure a comfortable victory here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
