In the first leg of the third Europa League qualifying round, Dinamo Minsk are set to host Lincoln Red Imps at Varosi Stadion on Thursday.
The home side are second in Belarus' top flight with 35 points after 15 games, while the visitors finished first in their championship playoff group with 65 points in Gibraltar's top flight.
Match preview
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The hosts were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after losing 2-1 on aggregate against Ludogorets in the second round, therefore dropping into the Europa League qualifiers.
Despite winning the second leg 1-0 on July 31, their 2-0 defeat in the first leg on July 24 proved too big an obstacle to overcome.
In the tie, Dinamo Minsk had 16 shots and nine on target, but manager Vadim Skripchenko will be concerned that Ludogorets had 17 efforts of their own, seven of which were on target.
Having said that, Skripchenko will take solace from the fact that his side's loss in the first leg was their only defeat in their last 14 matches.
Dinamo Minsk's home record is also strong, and their 3-2 domestic cup tie defeat against BATE on March 10 is their only defeat in their last 17 games at Varosi Stadion.
However, Minsk still managed to progress through that cup tie, as they had won the first leg 1-0 and went on to beat BATE on penalties.
![Joe of Lincoln Red Imps is playing during the UEFA Champions League, First Qualifying Round, 1st Leg soccer match between Hamrun Spartans and Lincoln Red Imps, at the Centenary Stadium, in Ta Qali, Malta, on July 9, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/joe.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Joe of Lincoln Red Imps is playing during the UEFA Champions League, First Qualifying Round, 1st Leg soccer match between Hamrun Spartans and Lincoln Red Imps, at the Centenary Stadium, in Ta Qali, Malta, on July 9, 2024 [on August 6, 2024]")
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Opponents Lincoln Red Imps were also eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after losing 7-0 on aggregate against Qarabag FK in the second round.
They conceded 11 shots, seven attempts on target and had just 34% possession in their 2-0 first leg defeat on July 23.
Lincoln performed considerably worse in their second leg loss considering Qarabag had 18 shots, seven of which were on target, as well as 71% possession.
The visitors have only ever won two games in the Europa League, both of which were in August 2020, and have failed to win any of their nine other fixtures in the competition.
Lincoln come into the match on Thursday having lost their last three games, but prior to this they won 17 of the previous 18 fixtures.
It should be noted that the visitors have never won an away game in the Europa League and have never reached the group stage of the competition.
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Team News
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The hosts could name an unchanged XI from the side that beat Ludogorets in the second leg of their Champions League tie.
As such, expect goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov to be shielded by centre-backs Vladislav Kalinin and Aleksei Gavrilovich, while Ivan Bakhar could retain his place in the forward line.
The visitors could field a centre-back pairing of Bernardo Lopes and Rafael Munoz in front of goalkeeper Nauzet Garcia Santana.
Elsewhere, Lincoln could start Pedro Martin and Julian Valarino in the forward line.
Dinamo Minsk possible starting lineup:
Lapoukhov; Bykov, Kalinin, Gavrilovich, Lopes; Sedko, Selyava, Demchenko; Melnichenko, Alfred, Bakhar
Lincoln Red Imps possible starting lineup:
Santana; Sergeant, Munoz, Lopes, Ayew; Torrilla, Yahaya, Nano; Britto, Martin, Valarino
We say: Dinamo Minsk 2-0 Lincoln Red Imps
Although Minsk did concede numerous shots when they were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers, they should still come into Thursday's clash as favourites given they were at least competitive against Ludogorets.
On the other hand, Lincoln rarely do well in European competitions, and it would be a surprise to see them avoid defeat.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
