Milsami and Saint-Etienne will head into their Europa League qualifier hoping to earn a spot in the group stage of this season's competition.

The French club will be heavily fancied to progress, but they have endured a shaky start to the season and were beaten in their previous European fixture.

Milsami

Moldovan champions Milsami are venturing into uncharted territory, as they attempt to qualify for the group stage of a European competition for the first time in their history.

It would mark an outstanding achievement for the Eagles, who were only founded 10 years ago and won their first league title last season.

They claimed the trophy on the final day of the season thanks to their superior head-to-head record against Sheriff Tiraspol and Dacia Chisinau, after the three teams finished level on 55 points.

Finishing top of the league meant that they booked a place in the second qualifying round for the Champions League and they defied expectations by beating Ludogorets Razgrad, who had reached the group stages last season.

However, their dream of going any further was crushed by Albanian club Skenderbeu Korce, who eased to a 4-0 aggregate victory to send them into the Europa League.

Recent form: WLWLLW

Saint-Etienne

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It has not been the greatest of starts to the new season for Saint-Etienne, who have failed to win either of their opening Ligue 1 fixtures.

They had won their final three games of the last campaign as they narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League, but that run was brought to an end by Toulouse in a 2-1 defeat.

At the weekend it seemed for long periods as if they would claim all three points against Bordeaux when Romain Hamouma fired them into the lead, but a stoppage-time equaliser from Henri Saivet saw the match finish level.

Prior to the beginning of their league season, they were in Europa League action at the end of July, with a third-round qualifier against Targu Mures.

They made light work of the Romanian club in the first leg and romped to a comfortable 3-0 win away from home. However, they were stunned back in France, when their opponents raced into a two-goal lead. A late own goal saw them finish the night with a 2-1 defeat, and manager Christophe Galtier will hope that his players aren't as complacent against Milsami.

Recent form: WLLD

Team News

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Gheorghe Andronic will miss out for Milsami after being sent off in their defeat to Skenderbeu Korce.

His absence is likely to mean a recall for striker Romeo Surdu, who was the club's top scorer last season.

Meanwhile, Hamouma should continue up front for the visitors, after scoring three goals in his first four games of the season.

Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Yohan Mollo are also expected to push for a start, but they may begin on the bench, with Nolan Roux and Ismael Diomande preferred in the attack.

Milsami possible starting lineup:
Mitu, Rassulov, Shedrack, Racu, Erhan, Patras, Banovic, Cojacari, Antoniuc, Belak, Surdu

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Ruffier, Theophile-Catherine, Pogba, Sall, Ekotto, Clement, Lemoine, Diomande, Roux, Hamouma

Head To Head

The teams met two years ago in a third round qualifier for the Europa League, where Saint-Etienne cruised to a 6-0 aggregate victory.

The French club won 3-0 in each leg, with Brazilian striker Brandao netting three of his side's goals over the two matches.

We say: Milsami 1-2 Saint-Etienne

Although Saint-Etienne have made an unconvincing start to the season, it is hard to see them losing in Moldova. They have a number of quality players in their team, who produced some exceptional displays in Ligue 1 last season, so we are tipping them to clinch a crucial away victory.

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