Both striving for a victory to take them into the knockout stages of the competition, Backa Topola will welcome FC Noah to TSC Arena on Thursday night for an all-important Conference League battle.
TSC are on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament amid a poor run of form, whilst the Armenians come into this clash following a convincing domestic win on the weekend.
Match preview
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Since a 4-1 league success over Radnicki Nis on the first day of December, Backa Topola have endured a four-game winless streak across domestic and continental contests, most recently losing to Vojvodina on Sunday afternoon, when a late Milos Vulic penalty was a mere consolation at the conclusion of a 3-1 defeat.
TSC have battled through a difficult week of their festive schedule which commenced with a battering in Belgium at the hands of top-eight chasing Gent, who secured maximum points on home soil during gameweek five courtesy of strikes from Max Dean, Omri Gandelman and Franck Surdez.
Qualifying for European competition thanks to their third-placed finish in the Serbian Super Liga during 2023-24, Backa Topola are currently on course for their worst campaign domestically in many years, with Jovan Damjanovic's troops languishing down in ninth position in the 16-team standings.
Focusing on Conference League matters, the collection of four points from their opening five matches of the League Phase means that they occupying 27th spot heading into the final fixture of the section, with only three points against Noah likely to be enough for progression into the playoff round.
Highlighting Backa Topola's struggles this season, midfielder Ifet Dakovac is holding up the fort at the summit of the club's goalscoring charts with six strikes, although the 27-year-old is yet to make the net ripple in seven appearances across the Europa League and Conference League this term.
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Established just seven years ago, Noah are arguably the fairytale story of this season's Conference League, however their maiden adventure onto the European stage is at serious danger of ending prematurely following a damaging home defeat on matchday five last Thursday.
It appeared as if the Armenians were on course for a much-needed point when Brazilian star Matheus Aias restored parity in the contest against APOEL in Yerevan, however strikes in the final moments of the game from Georgi Kostadinov and David Abagna resulted in a 3-1 victory for the travelling Cypriots.
Five fixtures into their maiden continental conquest, Noah are currently sitting in a lowly 31st position in the Conference League standings ahead of the final match of the revamped League Phase, meaning that they must earn three points at TSC Arena to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages.
Following five straight home contests across all competitions, the Armenian minnows are back on the road for the first time since the trip to title rivals Pyunik on November 24, when a brace from Pablo - alongside an effort from Bryan Mendoza - sealed a 3-1 victory in the top flight.
Noah have endured more difficult moments on their travels in Europe, though, with Rui Mota's men losing back-to-back away matches in the Conference League so far, including an eight-goal thrashing at the intimidating home of Premier League giants Chelsea.
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Team News
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Despite conceding three goals at Gent last week, Backa Topola are likely to stick with a centre-back pairing of Dusan Stevanovic and Mateja Djordjevic.
There are set to be changes at the top end of the pitch after TSC fired a blank in Belgium during gameweek five, meaning that the spots of Mihajlo Banjac and Aleksandar Cirkovic are under threat.
Spending the campaign on loan from Italian giants AC Milan, Marko Lazetic is an exciting option who could enter the starting XI on Thursday night for the hosts.
After netting four goals during the 7-1 thumping of West Armenia on Sunday, Goncalo Gregorio should be in Noah's team from the off following his bench appearance against APOEL last Thursday.
Aias is likely to keep his spot after scoring during gameweek five, so the likes of Eraldo Cinari and Helder might have to settle for a place amongst the substitutes.
Backa Topola possible starting lineup:
Ilic; Jovanovic, Djordjevic, Stevanovic, Petrovic; Radin, Mboungou, Dakovac, Sos, Cirkovic; Pantovic
FC Noah possible starting lineup:
Ploshchadnyi; Mendoza, Muradyan, Silva, Miljkovic; Dashyan, Omar, Sangare; Gregorio, Helder, Aias
We say: Backa Topola 2-0 FC Noah
With a hostile home crowd supporting them all the way, Backa Topola should be very confident of securing a win that could take them into the knockout stages of the Conference League.
Noah need a victory on the road in the League Phase for the first time on Thursday, however we feel that the Armenians will fall short and consequently bow out of the competition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
