ElfsborgElfsborgvs.RijekaHNK Rijeka

This week's hosts were able to hold on to a draw following a second-half dismissal in Croatia, leaving them firmly in the tie going into their home leg.

Match preview

Last season saw Elfsborg come devastatingly close to a first Swedish Allsvenskan title since 2012, finishing level on 64 points with Malmo FF but placing as runners-up due to a worse goal difference.

While they would have been disappointed with their second-placed finish, it has given Elfsborg the chance to successfully qualify for a European competition for the first time since 2013-14, when they finished third in their Europa League group.

They have competed in multiple European qualifiers since that season, losing in the qualifiers of the Europa League in 2014-15 and 2015-16 as well as the Europa Conference League in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Elfsborg, having already beaten Pafos FC and Sheriff Tiraspol in the first two qualifying rounds, took the lead in the 24th minute of the first leg of the tie, but a 45th-minute equaliser and a 56th-minute red card forced the Swedish side to hold on to the draw for the rest of the game.

Despite falling short of last year's league performance, currently sitting fifth in the Allsvenskan after 18 matches, they have significantly improved under new manager Oscar Hiljemark winning eight of the 10 fixtures since his arrival in June.

The hosts will be confident of securing a second-leg victory in this tie, with Elfsborg having dropped points in just three of their home league matches this year.

As for the visitors, Rijeka enjoyed their best league season since last winning the HNL title in 2016-17, finishing in second place with 74 points, earning them a place in the Europa League qualifying rounds.

They kicked off their 2024-25 with a narrow 1-0 aggregate victory against FC Corvinul Hunedoara, a much tighter affair than they would have wanted to begin their campaign.

Rijeka followed that result up with a 4-0 win against NK Lokomotiva Zagreb in their opening league fixture, but they have since gone on to draw their most recent two outings.

Radomir Dalovic will take charge of the side for the first time in this second leg following the departure of former manager Zeljko Sopic, and Dalovic will be hoping the side can record their first victory on the road in six matches.

Elfsborg Europa League form:

W

W

W

W

D

Elfsborg form (all competitions):

HNK Rijeka Europa League form:

D

W

D

HNK Rijeka form (all competitions):

Team News

Jalal Abdullai, who scored Elfsborg's only goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg, will be unavailable for Thursday's second leg after being dismissed for an accumulation of yellow cards in that match.

Michael Baidoo has netted eight times in 22 matches for Elfsborg this year, and the striker is expected to lead the line alongside Ahmed Qasem and Arber Zeneli.

As for Rijeka, they are unlikely to have Bruno Goda for this match as he continues his recovery from an injury issue that is anticipated to keep him out the side for a number of weeks.

Martin Zlomislic is also a doubt due to a leg injury that he sustained in recent weeks, but the goalkeeper has kept his place in the side in the past matches and is likely to play here.

Elfsborg possible starting lineup:

Pettersson; Holmen, Henriksson, Yegbe; Hedlund, B Zeneli, Baldursson, Hult; Qasem, Baidoo, A Zeneli

HNK Rijeka possible starting lineup:

Zlomislic; Smolcic, Galesic, Radeljic, Cabraja; Pasalic, Petrovic, Hodza, Fruk, Jankovic; Ivanovic

We say: Elfsborg 2-1 HNK Rijeka (Elfsborg win 3-2 on aggregate)

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