Tobol are set to play host to MFK Ruzomberok at the Ortaliq Stadion on Thursday, tasked with overturning a substantial deficit from a heavy defeat in the first leg.
The hosts were on the wrong end of a 5-2 scoreline when they travelled to Slovakia last week, leaving the visitors with the upper hand heading into this game.
Match preview
Tobol went into the first leg aiming to go one step further than their playoff round exit from the Europa Conference League qualifiers last season, a run that ended with a 5-1 defeat to Viktoria Plzen after impressively besting Honka, Basel and Derry City.
However, Tobol suffered a heavy 5-2 loss in that game and now enter into the second leg facing the difficult task of overturning a three-goal deficit.
The hosts will be hoping the home advantage in the second leg can help them get back into the tie, and they were at their best when playing at home during their qualification campaign last season, picking up vital victories in the first and third rounds to help them advance on both occasions.
They have also been impressive at home so far this season, losing just one of their nine home matches across all competitions, and they will be relying on that form to help them through this one.
As for Ruzomberok, last week's victory was their first in this competition since an impressive qualification campaign in 2017-18 that saw them progress past FC Vojvodina and SK Brann before being beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Everton in the third qualifying round.
Since then, the Rose had fallen to first-qualifying round defeats to Levski Sofia and Servette, while they did manage to make it to the second round of Europa Conference League qualifying in 2022-23 before being defeated by Riga FC.
Despite the disadvantage of their opponents being midway through their domestic season while they had not played a competitive match in nearly two months, Ondrej Smetana's men showed no signs of rustiness as they secured a three-goal lead to take into the second leg.
An action-packed first half saw Ruzomberok go one goal down before equalising three minutes later and eventually managing to take a 3-2 lead into halftime, before adding two goals in the final 20 minutes thanks to Matej Madlenak and Simon Gabriel, the latter netting for the second time.
Ruzomberok's triumph in their home leg will provide them plenty of confidence going into this one, as historically they have maintained an undefeated record on aggregate when securing victory in their home leg in European competition.
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Team News
The hosts switched away from their customary four-defender system when they deployed a 3-5-2 formation in the first leg, but they may opt to return to a back four of Albert Gabaraev, Pape-Alioune Ndiaye, Ivan Miladinovic and Roman Asrankulov here.
Elsewhere, Igor Ivanovic is expected to keep his place in the starting team after he scored and assisted in last week's defeat, while he has also scored four times in the league this season.
As for the visitors, Smetana could decide to name the same starting side that earned the fantastic 5-2 victory in the first leg.
Striker Jan Hladik proved to be a threat for Ruzomberok in the last game as he got two assists, and he is expected to lead the line once again here.
Tobol possible starting lineup:
Pokatilov; Gabaraev, Ndiaye, Miladinovic, Asrankulov; Shakhov, Essien; Ivanovic, El Messaoudi, Chesnokov; Henen
MFK Ruzomberok possible starting lineup:
Fruhwald; Selecky, Maly, Gabriel, Kostl; Lavrincik, Mudry; Luteran, Chrien, Tucny; Hladik
We say: Tobol 2-2 MFK Ruzomberok (MFK Ruzomberok win 7-4 on aggregate)
Tobol are likely to be on the offensive in this game as they aim to overturn a three-goal deficit, and after an action-packed first leg, we expect this one to follow a similar trend with plenty of goals, with Ruzomberok ultimately advancing.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
