Djurgardens IF welcome Lech Poznan to the Tele2 Arena for the second leg of their Europa Conference League round-of-16 clash on Thursday evening.
The visitors have a two-goal advantage after the first leg in Poland and will be confident of securing a place in the quarter-finals with a good result here.
Match preview
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Djurgarden travelled to Stadion Poznan last Thursday knowing they would face a difficult opponent and a hostile atmosphere, and in truth they were unable to deal with those two major obstacles.
The Swedish visitors did not manage a shot on target during the contest in Poland, and knowing they need to score at least twice in the second leg, the odds are stacked against Kim Bergstrand's men.
Bergstrand's side come into this crucial clash off the back of a Swedish Cup win over Malmo on Sunday afternoon, with winners of the quarter-final being decided by a penalty shootout after the game finished 2-2 following 120 minutes of football.
Djurgarden have scored two or more goals in four of their last five matches - a cause for optimism in this one - but the one game they failed to find the net was against Thursday's opponents, highlighting the step-up in quality from the Swedish game to continental football.
Lech Poznan are in the driving seat of this round-of-16 tie after a convincing 2-0 success last Thursday - a game in which the goal of Filip Bednarek was barely tested by the Swedish visitors.
Antonio Milic put the Poles into a first-half lead inside 40 minutes, before a late Filip Marchwinski goal put Poznan into a commanding position to advance into the last eight.
John van den Brom's men were in action - like their hosts - on Sunday afternoon, but they were unable to earn maximum points from a trip to relegation-threatened Piast Gliwice, drawing 1-1 in the end.
Poznan are in for a real battle to even secure qualification for the Conference League via their league position this season, meaning ultimate success in this year's edition is the only way the club will be playing Europa League football next campaign.
Team News
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Djurgarden rotated their XI during their quarter-final win in the Swedish Cup on the weekend, meaning Bergstrand should name a similar side to the one that started in Poland last week, with Magnus Eriksson and Gustav Wikheim looking to fire in the goals.
Hampus Finndell scored off the bench against Malmo on Sunday and could be rewarded with a starting berth here, with Lucas Bergvall possibly settling for a place among the substitutes.
Poznan are set to name an unchanged team to the one that won last Thursday, with Mikael Ishak looking to add to his five goals in the Conference League this season.
Defender Joel Pereira was rotated out of the side for Poznan's draw in the league on Sunday, but the 26-year-old should regain his place in the XI on Thursday evening.
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Moros, Danielson, Bengtsson; Eriksson, Sabovic, Berg; Asoro, Edvardsen, Wikheim
Lech Poznan possible starting lineup:
Bednarek; Pereira, Dagerstal, Milic, Rebocho; Karlstrom, Murawski, Skoras, Sousa, Szymczak; Ishak
We say: Djurgardens IF 0-1 Lech Poznan
Djurgarden have to attack on home soil if they are to reach the quarter-finals of this year's Conference League, although focusing too much on clawing back the two-goal deficit could leave them exposed defensively.
Poznan have conceded just three goals in their last five matches in all competitions, and we believe they will record a clean sheet here to book their spot in the last eight.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
