KI Klaksvik will be looking to edge closer to another season of continental football when they play host to Borac Banja Luka in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie on Thursday.
Both of these teams have dropped into this competition having lost in the Champions League second qualifying round.
Match preview
© Imago
This time last year, you needed to be a hardened football fanatic to be aware of KI Klaksvik outside of the Faroe Islands, yet is a far different story now.
In 2023-24, KI became the first team from that country to qualify for the main stages of a European competition, going on to earn four points in a Europa Conference League group that featured Lille, Slovan Bratislava and Olimpija Ljubljana.
Under the guidance of caretaker boss Espen Haug, they have greater ambitions this time around as they bid to remain in European football's second-tier tournament.
KI only went down 6-4 on aggregate to Malmo in their Champions League tie last month, overcoming the Swedish giants in the second leg, but they have much work ahead to get back in title contention.
As it stands, KI sit nine points adrift of leaders Vikingur, winning 13 of their 17 league matches but losing the other four.
Meanwhile, Borac Banja Luka have not reached the main stages of a European competition since the 1988-89 Cup Winners' Cup, highlighting the size of the occasion for the Bosnia-Herzegovian side.
The Red-Blues have given competitive accounts of themselves for several seasons, as they did against PAOK in the Champions League second qualifying round.
Mladen Zizovic's side only lost 4-2 on aggregate to last season's Europa Conference League quarter-finalists, an outcome that they can still take confidence from.
Although their domestic campaign is yet to get underway, the four matches on the continent can only stand them in good stead as they bid to go deeper in Europe than they have for 35 years.
Team News
Haug may be prepared to stick with the same KI XI that started the comfortable 4-0 win over 07 Vestur in the Faroe Islands top flight last time out.
With his team 2-0 to the good, Haug was able to ring the changes in the second half, with winger Kristoffer Odemarksbakken netting his first two goals for the club after his July arrival.
Pall Klettskard also got on the scoresheet for his 15th league goal of the season and the veteran forward should retain his place in attack.
Having battled hard in the second leg against PAOK, Zizovic will keep changes to his Borac Banja Luka side down to a minimum.
Damir Hrelja and Stojan Vranjes were called upon before the hour mark as Zizovic's side chased the game, and are seemingly first in line for an opportunity in the final third.
KI Klaksvik possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Vatnsdal, Da Silva, Berntsson, Danielsen, Petersen, Ejupi, Joensen, Odemarksbakken, Klettskard, Williams
Borac Banja Luka possible starting lineup:
Siskovski; Kvrzic, Meijers, Carolina, Herrera; Skorup, Grahovac; Kulasin, Savic, Vukovic; Lukic
We say: KI Klaksvik 2-1 Borac Banja Luka
With both teams having given valiant efforts in the Champions League, this will be a game between two teams who have full belief that they can go further in the competition. For us, though, we are giving the edge to KI, who have the experience of their exploits from 2023-24 in their favour.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
