In an action-packed midweek of Champions League round two qualifiers, KI Klaksvik will be looking to keep their incredible unbeaten streak going when they welcome Hacken to Djupumyra Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The hosts come into this match after defeating the 34-time Hungarian champions Ferencvaros 3-0 on aggregate in the first round, while the visitors overcame Welsh league champions The New Saints 5-1 in their two-legged tie.
Match preview
KI won their 20th Faroe Islands Premier League title last season and are making their fifth appearance in the Champions League qualifiers, though this is only the second time they have made it to the second round.
The hosts went into the last round as the massive underdogs against Ferencvaros, but after holding the Hungarian outfit to a 0-0 draw in the first leg, they pulled off an excellent 3-0 win at Groupama Arena last week.
Magne Hoseth's men only had 25% possession in the match and managed just nine shots at goal compared to their opponents' 22, but they were clinical with the opportunities they were afforded, with Arni Frederiksberg netting a brace before Luc Kassi secured the win on the stroke of halftime.
With those results, KI are now unbeaten in their last 13 matches in all competitions with 12 wins and a draw, while they have also maintained a perfect record in the league with 16 wins in 16 matches and have already pulled 12 points clear of B36 in second.
At home, Hoseth's men are unbeaten in their last 10 in all competitions, keeping seven clean sheets in that time, and having sent one of the fancied teams in these qualifiers home in the last round, they have certainly announced themselves as a potential dark horse in the competition.
Meanwhile, Hacken looked largely untroubled against the Welsh league champions in the last round as they secured a solid 3-1 lead at Bravida Arena in the first leg before Ibrahim Sadiq took them out of sight to a three-goal lead inside the first 20 minutes of the second match.
After a shocking 12th-placed finish in the 2021 season, Per-Mathias Hogmo's side bounced back in a huge way last term, winning the 2022 edition of Allsvenskan for the first time in their history.
However, this season has proven to be much trickier for the Swedish champions as they find themselves in a three-way battle for the league lead, with IF Elfsborg currently leading by four points while Malmo are level on points with them and have a game in hand.
Hacken lost their last match 1-0 on the road against Varnamo, which brought an end to a four-match winning streak in all competitions, and with a relatively short turnaround between that match and this one, it will be interesting to see how the visitors fair in the latter stages of the match when fatigue can become a factor.
Still, having made a very positive start to the qualifiers, Hacken will be full of confidence coming into this round and are also the shortest-priced favourites of any team competing on the day. However, they will do well not to get too ahead of themselves as their opponents have already shown that they are no pushover.
Team News
KI will be without the services of their top scorer from last season with 18 goals, Pall Klettskard, as he continues his recovery from an unspecified injury and is likely to miss the next few months as well.
Backup goalkeeper Markus Pettersen will also be unavailable with a groin strain, while in defence Heini Vatnsdal was flagged as an injury concern but seems to have shaken it off as he was spotted in training in the week.
First-team regular Simon Gustafson is a major doubt for this match after picking up a thigh injury against Varnamo last week, while Amane Romeo is still several weeks away from returning to action with a groin strain.
Amor Layouni will likely be the natural replacement for Gustafson if the latter misses out, and Filip Trpcevski could return in attack after sitting out the last match in place of Ola Kamara.
KI Klaksvik possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Pavlovic, Vatnsdal, Petersen; Danielsen, Andreasen, Joensen, Da Silva; Frederiksberg, Kronberg; Gussias
Hacken possible starting lineup:
Abrahamsson; Fridriksson, Uchenna, Hovland, Hansen; Rygaard, Sa. Gustafson, Layouni; Sadiq, Trpcevski, Sana
We say: KI Klaksvik 1-2 Hacken
While the visitors come into this encounter as the massive favourites, this could be a much closer game than the odds suggest. KI's perfect league record and results in the previous round cannot be overlooked, and while we feel the visitors should win the match, it will likely be by the slenderest of margins, while a draw result would not be a huge surprise either.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
