Zeljeznicar will welcome Dinamo Minsk to the Stadion Grbavica in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League first-round qualifiers on Thursday.
The hosts are back in the qualifiers of a UEFA-affiliated competition after three seasons. In their last appearances in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers in the 2020-21 season, they were eliminated from the first round by Maccabi Haifa.
Their best performances in Europe came in the 1984-85 edition of the erstwhile UEFA Cup, making it to the semi-finals. Interestingly, they have not qualified for the group stage since.
The visitors are in the Conference League qualifiers for the second season in a row. Last season they were eliminated from the second round as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Hapoel Be'er Sheva. They last made it to the group stage in a UEFA-affiliated competition in the Europa League in the 2015-16 campaign, they failed to make it past the group stage.
Plavi will play their first competitive game of the season on Thursday. They looked solid in the two friendlies, recording back-to-back 2-0 wins. They have an unbeaten record against the visitors and are likely to have the upper hand at home. The visitors have been in good form recently and have gone unbeaten in their last three games, keeping two clean sheets in that period.
Zeljeznicar have the home advantage but as they have not played a competitive game since May, they might be a bit rusty. With that in mind, we back them to settle for a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Zeljeznicar 1-1 Dinamo Minsk
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the first half - Yes
Tip 4: Vladislav Morozov to score or assist any time - Yes
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