Corvinul Hunedoara and HNK Rijeka square off in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie on Thursday evening.
While the Romanian hosts caused a surprise in the opening round, their Croatian opponents are participating in their first competitive game of the campaign.
Match preview
© Imago
The 2023-24 campaign was one of disappointment for Rijeka, most notably on the domestic front as they finished runners-up in the top flight and lost the Croatian Cup final.
Furthermore, they missed out in the playoff round of the Europa Conference League, and it has left Zeljko Sopic and his squad motivated to right some wrongs.
Rijeka have not reached the group stage of this competition since 2019-20, where they collected four points from six games against Napoli, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar.
That will be their aim this time around, yet they will guarantee a minimum of a spot in the Europa Conference League playoffs should they come through this tie as expected.
Last Wednesday, Rijeka went down to Red Bull Salzburg by a 1-0 scoreline in a pre-season friendly, Sopic likely to be satisfied with their efforts in that contest.
Meanwhile, Corvinhul Hunedoara caused a major upset in the previous round as they upstaged Hungarian outfit PAKS by a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.
Although one of the minnows of the competition went down 2-0 in the second leg, winning the away first leg 4-0 proved decisive as they won just their second-ever European tie.
What made that success so impressive is Corvinhul being a second-tier side in Romania, their ownership situation preventing them from playing top-flight football.
Nevertheless, with a second-placed finish and a domestic cup win in 2023-24, the Ravens - managed by Florin Maxim - should not be ruled out just yet as they bid to create history.
Team News
Barring any injury issues, Maxim may stick with the Corvinul side that started the second leg against Paks, with the two goals for their opponents coming in the 78th minute and beyond.
Marius Lupu scored a hat-trick in the first leg, Sergiu Bus contributing the other, and the pair will hope to impress in the final third.
Meanwhile, Sopic could go with the side that started against Red Bull Salzburg.
Aside from one change being made at half time, the rest of the team were provided with at least an hour, which could be an indication that Maxim wanted miles in the legs.
The aforementioned alteration at the break saw Franjo Ivanovic replace Jorge Obregon, and Maxim may opt to go with that switch here.
Corvinul Hunedoara possible starting lineup:
Lefter; Iacob, Lica, Manolache, Neacsa; Hrezdac, Bradu, Roger; Lupu, Bus, Pirvulescu
HNK Rijeka possible starting lineup:
Zlomislic; Galesic, Ivanovic, Radeljic, Banda; Bogojevic, Jankovic, Petrovic, Cabraja; Butic, Hodza
We say: Corvinul Hunedoara 1-2 HNK Rijeka
While Corvinul can take nothing but confidence from reaching this stage, facing Rijeka is a considerable step up. We expect the home side to be competitive, yet the visitors should come through with a hard-earned victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
