Bosnian outfit Borac Banja Luka play host Slovenian side NK Olimpija Ljubljana at Banja Luka City Stadium in the first leg of their Conference League playoff on Thursday night.
The winners of this two-legged contest will face either Rapid Vienna or last season's finalists Fiorentina in the last 16 next month.
Match preview
![Coach of Borac Banja Luka, Mladen Zizovic, during a press conference on July 23, 2024 [on August 27, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/35/mladen-zizovic.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Coach of Borac Banja Luka, Mladen Zizovic, during a press conference on July 23, 2024 [on August 27, 2024]")
© Imago
Borac Banja Luka are competing in European competition for the first time in their history and have scraped through to the Conference League playoffs despite failing to win four of their six League Phase fixtures (W2 D2 L2).
The Red-Blues suffered a 3-0 defeat at Shamrock Rovers and were held to a goalless stalemate on home soil by Omonia Nicosia in their final two League Phase matches, but they ultimately did enough to finish 20th and one point above the elimination zone.
Mladen Zizovic's side have since experienced a mid-season winter break in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they returned to competitive action last weekend when they beat second-tier side Celik 3-0 at home in the last 16 of the Bosnian Cup.
Before resuming their campaign in the top flight where they sit second and just three points behind top spot at the halfway stage, Borac will shift their attention to the Conference League and will endeavour to build on their strong run of form which has seen them win eight of their last 11 games in all competitions.
Like Borac, Olimpija Ljubljana are competing in the knockout rounds of a major European competition for first time after finishing the League Phase in 14th place with a record of three wins, one draw and two defeats from six matches.
The Dragons won three of their opening four Conference League games without reply against LASK Linz, HJK Helsinki and Larne, before suffering a 4-1 home loss to Cercle Brugge and ending their League Phase campaign with a 0-0 draw at Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Managed by former Real Madrid midfielder Victor Sanchez, Olimpija enter Thursday's contest in high spirits as they have already won their first two matches in February, both in the Slovenian top flight against Primorje (5-0) and Koper (2-1), beating the latter on the road last weekend.
Olimpija will back themselves to come away from Bosnia with a positive result in their first-leg tie with Borac, as they have only lost one of their last 18 away matches in all competitions (W12 D5).
Team News
© Imago
Borac Banja Luka are still having to cope without injured goalkeeper Nikola Cetkovic, so Filip Manojlovic is set to continue between the sticks.
January signings Viktor Rogan, Max Juraj Celic and Luka Zoric have all been added to their Conference League squad and are therefore available for selection on Thursday, but fellow new recruit Amer Hiros has been omitted.
Djordje Despotovic is Borac's top scorer this season with 12 goals and he is expected to lead the line, with Enver Kulasin and David Cavic providing support in the final third from the flanks.
As for Olimpija Ljubljana, they will be without forward Pedro Lucas who is nursing a knee injury, so 12-goal Raul Florucz could lead the line, although he is yet to score in five Conference League outings this season.
However, Alex Tamm may be preferred as the central striker; the Estonian has scored two goals in as many games since joining the club in January and has been added to their Conference League squad.
Fellow new signings Jurgen Celhaka is also eligible to play on Thursday and could be handed a start in centre-midfield alongside Diogo Pinto and Agustin Doffo.
Borac Banja Luka possible starting lineup:
Manojlovic; Vukcevic, Meijers, Carolina, Herrera; Grahovac, Ogrinec; Kulasin, Savic, Cavic; Despotovic
NK Olimpija Ljubljana possible starting lineup:
Vidovsek; Silva, Ratnik, Muhamedbegovic; Sualehe, Celhaka; Florucz, Pinto, Doffo, Blanco; Tamm
We say: Borac Banja Luka 1-2 NK Olimpija Ljubljana
A closely-fought contest could be in store on Thursday as there is little to separate these two teams. We are backing both teams to score, but taking into account the impressive away record of Olimpija Ljubljana, they may just have the edge to claim a slender first-leg advantage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
