Ferencvaros welcome Viktoria Plzen to the Groupama Arena in Budapest for the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday evening
The winners of this two-legged contest will face either Lazio of Athletic Bilbao in the last 16 next month.
Match preview
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Ferencvaros are competing in the knockout rounds of a major European competition for the third consecutive campaign and are now bidding to reach the Europa League last 16 for the second season in a row after accumulating enough points in the newly-formed League Phase to avoid elimination.
The 35-time Hungarian champions ended the League Phase in 17th place with 12 points after winning four and losing four of their eight matches, scoring and conceding 15 goals each. A thrilling 4-3 home win over AZ Alkmaar on matchday eight a fortnight ago secured their place in the playoffs.
That victory represents the first and only victory across five matches for new Ferencvaros head coach Robbie Keane since replacing Pascal Jansen last month, with the Greens failing to win any of their last three Nemzeti Bajnoksag I fixtures.
Ferencvaros were forced to play out back-to-back draws before being knocked off their perch at the summit of the Hungarian top flight by new table-toppers Puskas Akademia, who have moved two points clear after winning 1-0 on Sunday.
Keane will be keen to prove himself to the Ferencvaros faithful after a tricky start to life in Hungary, and he will hope that his players can rediscover their scoring form in the Europa League; the Greens have netted four goals in three of their last five Europa League matches in wins over AZ, Malmo (4-1) and Dinamo Kiev (4-0).
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After reaching the quarter-finals of last season's Conference League, Viktoria Plzen put in a respectable showing during the League Phase of this year's Europa League and are now on course to reach the last 16 of the competition for the first time since 2017-18.
Like Ferencvaros, the six-time Czech champions collected 12 points (W3 D3 L2) across their eight League Phase fixtures, although a 3-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on matchday eight saw them miss out on an automatic last-16 qualification spot and forced them to settle for a 16th-placed finish.
A 2-1 loss against Sigma in the Czech First League just four days later condemned them to a second defeat in a row in all competitions for the first time since May 2023, but they have since returned to winning ways after beating Liberec 3-2 on home soil last weekend.
Sitting second in the top-flight standings and 10 points behind leaders Slavia Prague with nine games of their regular season remaining, Plzen's title hopes are hanging by a thread, so perhaps some Ferencvaros supporters would not be too surprised to see Miroslav Koubek's side go all out to progress further in this season's Europa League.
Plzen may have lost three of their last six away games in all tournaments, including both of their last two, but they will back themselves to at least find the net on Thursday as they have scored in each of their last six Europa League fixtures on the road, scoring two or more goals on four of those occasions.
Team News
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Ferencvaros are still having to cope without goalkeeper Denes Dibusz as he continues to recover from a hip injury, so Adam Varga is set to remain between the sticks on Thursday.
New signing Julio Romao made his debut last weekend and has been added to Ferencvaros' Europa League squad, meaning that he is eligible to play in midfield for this one alongside Mohammad Abu Fani and either Alex Toth or Habib Maiga.
Barnabas Varga is the Europa League's joint-top scorer so far this season with seven goals (16 goals in all competitions) and the experienced striker is expected to lead the line, with Adama Traore and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane the most likely duo to provide support in attack from the flanks.
As for Viktoria Plzen, Cheick Souare and Christophe Kabongo remain sidelined with injuries, while Daniel Vasulin is suspended after being sent off in the defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
Centre-back Sampson Dweh is available to return to the first XI after missing last weekend's match due to a domestic suspension, while Lukas Kalvach recovered from illness to play the full 90 minutes in centre-midfield and is poised to retain his starting spot on Thursday.
Star man Pavel Sulc has contributed with a team-high 10 goals and nine assists so far this season, including two goals and two assists in the Europa League, and he is expected to operate in an advanced midfield role behind strikers Matej Vydra and Prince Kwabena Adu.
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
A. Varga; Makreckis, Cisse, Gartenmann, Civic; Romao; Romdhane, Abu Fani, Toth, Traore; B. Varga
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Jedlicka; Dweh, Markovic, Jemelka; Havel, Cerv, Kalvach, Cadu; Sulc; Vydra, Adu
We say: Ferencvaros 1-1 Viktoria Plzen
First legs can often be cagey affairs and the mercurial nature of Ferencvaros, in particular, this season makes this contest even more difficult to predict. Both sides will back themselves to find the net, but they may have to settle for a share of the spoils before going all out for the victory in next week's second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
