Rigas Futbola Skola will attempt to clinch their first win of the Europa Conference League group stage when they welcome Istanbul Basaksehir to the Latvian capital.
The visitors, who are yet to lose in any competition this term, have won their opening two group games by a combined 7-0 scoreline.
Match preview
RFS required a penalty-shootout victory against Linfield to secure their place in the group stage, where they have found points hard to come by in their opening two games.
A battling performance in Florence helped RFS hold Fiorentina to a 1-1 draw in their group opener, but they were unable to take anything from their most recent European outing versus Hearts.
Goals from Lawrence Shankland and Alan Forrest condemned the Latvian champions to a 2-0 home defeat that leaves them in third position in Group A.
Although they are already five points adrift of Thursday's opponents, they are only two points away from Hearts ahead of matchday three.
After thrashing Metta 6-0 in the Virsliga at the weekend, RFS will hope that their domestic form - which includes three consecutive league victories - can be transferred onto the European stage.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Basaksehir could not have wished for a better start to the season, after avoiding defeat in their 15 competitive games this term.
They currently sit top of the Turkish Super Lig as well as their Europa League group, having won seven of their last eight games in all competitions.
Included in that run of form is a 4-0 victory over Hearts on matchday one of the Europa Conference League, which was followed by another comfortable win against Fiorentina.
A Serdar Gurler brace and a late strike from Bertrand Traore wrapped up a commanding victory over the Italian side, and a win on Thursday would take them one step closer to the knockout rounds.
Including qualifying, Istanbul Basaksehir have won six and drawn two of their eight Europa Conference League games, and not only will they be aiming for another positive result against RFS, but they will be attempting to keep a third consecutive clean sheet in the competition.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
RFS are expected to utilise a back three, which could include Vitalijs Jagodinskis, Elvis Stuglis and Ziga Lipuscek.
After scoring a first-half hat-trick in Saturday's 6-0 win over Metta, Tomislav Saric will continue in central midfield alongside Stefan Panic.
Meanwhile, Emerson Deocleciano will look to add to the 14 goals that he has scored this season when he features in the front three.
As for the visitors, they are without the services of Mesut Ozil, who is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a back problem.
Gurler has appeared as a substitute in Istanbul Basaksehir's last two league games, but after scoring a brace against Fiorentina, he is expected to be handed his third consecutive start in the Europa Conference League group stage.
Stefano Okaka scored his third goal of the season at the weekend, and he will look to add to his tally when he features in the forward line on Thursday.
Rigas Futbola Skola possible starting lineup:
Steinbors; Jagodinskis, Stuglis, Lipuscek; Vlalukin, Panic, Saric, Mares; Simkovic, Deocleciano, Friesenbichler
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Sahiner, Ndayishimiye, Touba, Kaldirim; Aleksic, Biglia, Ozcan; Gurler, Chouiar, Okaka
We say: Rigas Futbola Skola 0-3 Istanbul Basaksehir
Istanbul Basaksehir have made light work of their opening two group games, and we think that they will maintain their unbeaten record in the 2022-23 season with another comfortable victory on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Sully
