Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih host Viktoria Plzen at the Kosicka futbalova arena on Thursday as the two teams matchup in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie.
The hosts are competing in the Europa League for the first time in their history, while the visitors are aiming to qualify for European competition in successive seasons.
Match preview
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Kryvbas Kryvyi have had a phenomenal rise up the Ukrainian leagues since they were re-established in 2017, rapidly climbing from the fourth division in 2017-18 to competing in the top division in 2022-23.
They managed to secure an impressive seventh-placed finish in their first campaign in the top flight, followed by an outstanding third-place finish last season, securing them a place in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
Their first-leg match against Viktoria Plzen will be their debut appearance in a European competition and Yuriy Vernydub will be hoping his side can go all the way and qualify for the revamped league phase.
Vernydub has been in charge of the side since June 2022 and the Ukrainian manager will be looking to make the most of his experience of managing in European competition at previous clubs, including beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League while in charge of Sheriff Tiraspol.
While Vernydub may have experience at the very highest level, his side will be major underdogs heading into this tie against a Viktoria Plzen side that have made regular appearances in Europe in past years.
They were narrowly knocked out by Fiorentina in the quarter-finals of last term's Europa Conference League, losing 2-0 in extra-time of the second leg, and have also recently featured in the Champions League in 2022-23.
Plzen may have featured in Europe in each of the last two campaigns, but they have been unable to replicate their domestic success in that time, finishing third in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 after winning the title in 2021-22.
Miroslav Koubek's 2024-25 season has started in positive fashion, remaining unbeaten after three league matches with two wins and a draw, and Koubek will be looking to continue that momentum with a win in this one.
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Team News
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Kryvbas Kryvyi kicked off their competitive campaign with a 1-0 win last weekend and Vernydub could name a similar side after an extremely dominant performance in that game.
Yehor Tverdokhlib scored the only goal in that outing, and the midfielder is likely to partner with Maksym Luniov and Yurii Vakulko in the middle of the park here.
The visitors could be without up to seven players for this match, with Cheick Souare, Christophe Kabongo, Jan Paluska, Jan Sykora, Lukas Hejda, Rafiu Durosinmi and Viktor Baier all injured.
Pavel Sulc scored 18 league goals in 31 appearances last year and has continued his form into the new campaign with two goals in three, and the attacker is expected to start here.
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih possible starting lineup:
Klishchuk; Fonseca, Romanchuk, Stetskov, Dibango; Kuzyk, Luniov, Vakulko, Tverdokhlib, Khomchenovsky; Adu
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Tvrdon; Dweh, Hranac, Jemelka; Kopic, Cerv, Kalvach, Sulc, Havel; Vydra, Vasulin
We say: Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 1-3 Viktoria Plzen
The visitors have much more experience competing in Europe than their hosts and have started the season in a positive manner, while the visitors are likely to be nervous ahead of their European debut, suggesting Plzen will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
