Looking to record their first win of the League Phase at the fourth attempt, Dynamo Kiev will welcome Hungarian giants Ferencvaros to Volksparkstadion in Hamburg for a Europa League clash on Thursday night.
The Blue and Whites have enjoyed a good run of domestic form heading into this continental clash, whilst the Greens have failed to convert dominant performances into maximum points in recent times.
Match preview
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Finishing second in the Ukrainian Premier League during the 2023-24 term, Dynamo Kiev secured a place in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League over the summer, but Thursday's hosts eventually dropped down to the Europa League following a playoff defeat to Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg.
Since then, the Blue and Whites have suffered three straight defeats on the continental stage, damaging their chances of earning a top-24 finish in the League Phase, losing in Hamburg to Lazio before back-to-back defeats on the road in Europe at Hoffenheim and Roma respectively.
Dynamo Kiev proved to be a stubborn opponent for the Italian giants at Stadio Olimpico during gameweek three, although they were unable to return to Ukraine with anything to show for their considerable efforts, with a first-half penalty from Artem Dovbyk deciding the destination of the points.
Following that Europa League defeat to Ivan Juric's Roma on October 24, the Blue and Whites have strung together a three-game unbeaten streak on the domestic scene, including a 1-1 league draw with Champions League-competing Shakhtar Donetsk and a round-of-16 cup win over Vorskla Poltava.
Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's men enjoyed their second-biggest win of the campaign on Sunday afternoon in the Ukrainian Premier League, with brilliant braces from Vladyslav Vanat and Mykola Shaparenko stealing the headlines as the hosts eased to a 5-2 success over bottom side Inhulets.
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Focusing on domestic matters for a moment, Ferencvaros' hunt for a seventh straight Hungarian crown has suffered a blow in recent weeks due to back-to-back draws against top-flight minnows Gyori ETO and Debrecen, although Thursday's visitors to Germany remain top of the division on goal difference.
As is the case with Dynamo Kiev, the Greens have dropped down to the Europa League from Champions League qualifying earlier in the campaign and are looking to make a major impact in UEFA's second-tier club competition, with the Hungarians managing a standout success during gameweek three on October 24.
Ferencvaros welcomed French powerhouses Nice to Groupama Arena in Budapest and adopted a backs-to-the-wall approach once ahead courtesy of a first-half own goal from centre-back Moise Bombito, with the hosts holding on valiantly to record their first points of the League Phase.
An experienced operator on the continental scene due to his three-year spell at the helm of Eredivisie giants AZ Alkmaar, Pascal Jansen is currently five months into his job at the Greens, with the 51-year-old winning 11 and losing just four of his first 18 competitive matches in charge.
The star of the show for Ferencvaros on the domestic stage, Brazilian attacker Saldanha has netted five times in six league appearances so far this season, but the former Bahia youngster is yet to put his name onto the scoresheet across three Europa League contests in 2024-25.
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Team News
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Dynamo Kiev remain without the services of Brayan Ceballos, with the centre-back expected to be back in action later this month following a muscle injury.
The Blue and Whites are also short of options in midfield due to the absence of Oleksandr Pikhalyonok, who featured in his side's opening two Europa League matches before picking up a muscle strain.
The hosts' ranks in the engine room are further reduced by the unavailability of Vladimir Shepelev, with the defensive-minded midfielder recovering from a knock.
After keeping a clean sheet against Nice during their most recent European match, we are expecting Ferencvaros to stick with a centre-back pairing of Stefan Gartenmann and Ibrahim Cisse.
Leading marksman Saldanha should be promoted to the XI after starting on the bench versus Nice last month, meaning that Barnabas Varga is likely to drop out of the side for the trip to Hamburg.
Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Neschcheret; Bilovar, Popov, Mykhavko; Tymchyk, Mykhaylenko, Andrievsky, Rubchynskyi, Vivcharenko; Vanat, Kabayev
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Makreckis, Gartenmann, Cisse, Civic; Fani, Rommens, Traore, Malinowski, Zachariassen; Saldanha
We say: Dynamo Kiev 2-2 Ferencvaros
Both failing to keep clean sheets in their respective domestic matches since their most recent Europa League outings, we are expecting a goal-laden affair between Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros on Thursday night.
The Blue and Whites will be targeting this fixture as a good chance to earn their maiden victory of the League Phase, although we feel that the Hungarians should be good enough to force a share of the points at Volksparkstadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
