Both looking for their first points of the Europa League group stage, Rakow Czestochowa and Sturm Graz will do battle in Poland in the second round of matches on Thursday.
The hosts began with a 2-0 defeat to Atalanta BC, while their visitors fell short against Sporting Lisbon, with both now looking to put a first win on the board in their bid to advance on the continent.
Match preview
© Reuters
After winning the Polish Ekstraklasa for the first time in their history last term, Rakow Czestochowa earned a place in Champions League qualifying this season, entering in the first round, and they began their bid for continental group-stage football with a 4-0 aggregate win over Flora.
Qarabag then stood in their way and the Medaliki scraped through to the third qualifying round with a 4-3 triumph over the two legs, before pulling out another victory against Aris Limassol, winning 3-1 on aggregate to advance to the playoff round, moving within one tie of the group stage of Europe's premier competition and guaranteeing at least Europa League entry.
Handed a tough draw against Danish outfit Copenhagen, Dawid Szwarga's side were not quite able to continue their heroics, losing 1-0 on home turf and drawing 1-1 on their travels to bow out at the final hurdle and drop into the continent's second competition.
Still certainly pleased with group-stage football for the first time in their history nonetheless, the Medaliki began their Europa League campaign with a tough trip to Italy to take on Atalanta in September, and after the first half ended level, they eventually left empty-handed as Charles De Ketelaere and Ederson fired their hosts to a 2-0 victory.
Now on the back of a 3-0 beating of Radomiak Radom on Sunday, thanks to Bogdan Racovitan's brace and a John Yeboah goal, taking Szwarga's side up to third spot in the Ekstraklasa with 19 points from nine outings, they will now turn their focus back to the continental campaign and bid to score their first points of the group stage on home turf on Thursday.
They meet a Sturm Graz side who are also fighting for a first victory, having fallen short in their own Champions League qualifying bid.
After their second-placed finish in the Austrian Bundesliga last time around, Sturm Graz entered qualifying for Europe's top competition in the third round, and they met PSV Eindhoven and suffered a heavy aggregate defeat, losing 4-1 away from home and 3-1 in the reverse fixture in Graz.
That stage of entry did, at least, guarantee Die Schwoazn a place in the Europa League group stage, though, and they began their campaign at home to Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon last month, going ahead on the hour mark through William Boving, only to come away empty-handed as Viktor Gyokeres levelled the scores in the 76th minute and Ousmane Diomande netted the decisive goal for their visitors six minutes from time.
Christian Ilzer's side followed that up with a creditable 1-1 draw away at Rapid Vienna in the Austrian top flight, before beating Leobendorf 3-0 in the Austrian Cup and most recently moving further clear in second spot in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 triumph over WSG Tirol on Sunday, as Gregory Wuthrich netted the only goal on the stroke of half time.
Such a result saw Sturm Graz extend their unbeaten league start to nine matches and stay within touching distance of leaders Red Bull Salzburg, and they will now be desperate to carry that form onto the continent and get up and running in the Europa League group stage with a three-point haul in Poland.
Team News
© Reuters
Dawid Szwarga should certainly steer clear of making many changes to his Rakow Czestochowa starting XI on Thursday after their recent 3-0 beating of Radomiak Radom in the Ekstraklasa, with Bogdan Racovitan, Adnan Kovacevic and Milan Rundic bound to line up in an unchanged back three.
In their 3-4-3 setup, Fabian Piasecki led the line at the weekend with support from wingers Bartosz Nowak and Sonny Kittel, although Lukasz Zwolinski is fighting to come in from the start up front, having netted a team-high tally of six goals so far this term, while John Yeboah will also hope to start out wide after settling for a substitute appearance last time out.
There is also competition in midfield, with Giannis Papanikolaou dropping to the bench against Radomiak Radom after playing a key role in the early stages of the season, with Gustav Berggren and Vladyslav Kocherhin preferred in the engine room, and they will again compete for two spots on Thursday.
There were only minimal changes to the Sturm Graz starting XI between their group curtain-raiser against Sporting Lisbon and the weekend's clash with WSG Tirol, and we should again see a similar lineup on Thursday following the recent league victory, with Christian Ilzer sticking with a 4-4-2 diamond shape.
Szymon Wlodarczyk should again get the nod to lead the line alongside fellow 20-year-old William Boving, having netted seven goals in 14 appearances in all competitions so far this term, while the strike pairing should have support from Tomi Horvat through the middle.
Behind him, Stefan Hierlander, Jon Gorenc Stankovic and Alexander Prass should all keep their places in midfield, while David Affengruber and Gregory Wuthrich are bound to again partner up in the middle of their back four.
Rakow Czestochowa possible starting lineup:
V Kovacevic; Racovitan, A Kovacevic, Rundic; Tudor, Berggren, Kocherhin, Plavsic; Yeboah, Zwolinski, Kittel
Sturm Graz possible starting lineup:
Scherpen; Gazibegovic, Affengruber, Wuthrich, Schnegg; Stankovic; Hierlander, Prass; Horvat; Boving, Wlodarczyk
We say: Rakow Czestochowa 1-1 Sturm Graz
While Sturm Graz arguably boast more quality than their hosts and are more well-versed on the continental stage, Rakow will certainly be no pushovers, particularly in Poland, and we fancy them to score a first point from a low-scoring draw on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
