Seeking to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie, Ferencvaros welcome Young Boys to the Groupama Arena for Tuesday's make-or-break clash.
Meanwhile, the visitors managed to claim a first-leg advantage with 10 men last week and will now seek to finish the job en route to the group stage.
Match preview
© Reuters
The first true test of Ferencvaros' continental mettle came in the form of Slavia Prague in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, and despite progressing 2-1 on aggregate, a 1-0 defeat away from home did not exactly boost the confidence before a trip to Switzerland.
Franck Boli sought to make the Wankdorf Stadium his playground and notched up both of Ferencvaros' goals in the first leg, but Young Boys' Meschack Elia, Vincent Sierro and Ulisses Garcia propelled the home side to a thrilling victory, in spite of Silvan Hefti's 25th-minute sending off.
A 4-1 league success over Mezokovesd-Zsory preceded their defeat in Switzerland, and thankfully for Peter Stoger's men, they have not had a league battle to contend with this weekend as they seek to keep their dreams of back-to-back group stage appearances alive.
The safety net of the Europa League is ready and waiting for the Hungarian champions should they fail to produce the goods on their own turf, but they have won six of their last seven competitive matches on home soil and have found the back of the net in 14 consecutive matches at the Groupama Arena.
© Reuters
Similarly, Young Boys have not had to juggle a domestic fixture in between their two legs of this playoff tie, which is just as well, seeing as their next Swiss Super League battle is a daunting trip to fellow giants Basel on August 29.
David Wagner's side have not made the perfect start to their title defence - winning one, drawing one and losing one of their opening three games in the top flight - but a comprehensive 4-1 cup success over Littau came a few days before another goal-laden performance in Europe.
Young Boys are now able to boast three wins on the trot - during which time they have chalked up 10 goals, albeit without a single clean sheet at the correct end of the pitch - so attack may be the best form of defence for the visitors as they bid to reach the group stage of Europe's elite tournament for just the second time ever.
Both of Young Boys' away games in Champions League qualifying this year have ended in draws, though, and while Tuesday's game marks their first ever meeting with Ferencvaros in Hungary, only two of their previous six trips to face sides in the landlocked nation have ended in victory.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Ferencvaros midfielder Igor Kharatin will sit this one out after collecting his third booking of qualifying during the first leg, so Kristoffer Zachariassen should be recalled to the engine room.
The hosts will welcome Eldar Civic back for the second leg after he served a ban of his own last week, and the left-back ought to displace Endre Botka in the rearguard, while Samy Mmaee was fit enough to make the bench last time out and could return to the first XI here.
Adnan Kovacevic's place in the backline is at risk with Mmaee returning to full fitness, while red-hot striker Boli should once again be supported by Oleksandr Zubkov and Myrto Uzuni.
As for Young Boys, right-back Hefti takes his place on the sidelines following his early red card in the first leg, with Quentin Maceiras ready to deputise on Tuesday.
On a more positive note, midfielder Michel Aebischer is back from his own suspension and could rejoin Sierro in the engine room, with Christopher Martins Pereira dropping down to the bench.
A hefty contingent of players in Fabian Lustenberger, David von Ballmoos, Jordan Lefort and Sandro Lauper remain injured for the Swiss side, who should partner Elia with Jordan Siebatcheu up top once again.
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Wingo, S. Mmaee, Blazic, Civic; Zachariassen, Laidouni, Somalia; Zubkov, Boli, Uzuni
Young Boys possible starting lineup:
Faivre; Maceiras, Camara, Zesiger, Garcia; Fassnacht, Aebischer, Sierro, Ngamaleu; Elia, Siebatcheu
We say: Ferencvaros 1-2 Young Boys (Young Boys win 5-3 on aggregate)
The first leg of this playoff tie was goals galore, and given Young Boys' affinity for attacking, it would be a surprise to see the visitors sit back in a bid to weather the Ferencvaros storm.
Both teams once again have fresh suspension concerns to work around, and another closely-fought affair should be in order here, but we are tipping the visitors' penchant for goals to carry them over the line and into the group stages.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ferencvaros win with a probability of 37.15%. A win for Young Boys had a probability of 36.06% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ferencvaros win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.14%) and 2-0 (6.48%). The likeliest Young Boys win was 0-1 (9.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.73%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.1% likelihood.
