Rijeka vs Kolos Kovalyovka Match Preview

Rijeka failed to reach the second place in the domestic league for just one point, along with a ticket to the Champions League qualifiers. Their goal now is to qualify for the Europa League group stage, something they did not manage either in the previous two seasons. Their domestic league run started with a 2-0-2 record, and in the most recent round they suffered a 3-0 defeat against Osijek.

Perhaps their most two important players were the attacker A.Colak and the goalkeeper I. Pandur who were sold in the transfer window. At the same time, they have some missings tonight, goalkeeper A. Prskalo and striker Dani Iglesias are the most recent additions to their injured list, while S. Yateke (striker) and T. Halilović (midfielder) remain also unavailable. The participation of midfielder M. Ristovski will be decided at the last moment.

Although they played for the first time in their history in a European competiton, Kolos Kovalivka celebrated their qualification in the previous match, prevailing 2-1 over Aris in Thessaloniki. They did a good start in the domestic league as well, since after their 3-1 away defeat at the first round to Shakhtar Donetsk, two victories followed, with the most recent being against Rukh Lviv with 2-1 on the road. 

There are no problems reported for the Ukrainian team and so they will try for another victory in a game that once again they are the underdogs.

Rijeka's facing a lot of problems, including the missings of several players who played a significant role in their last season's run to the top 3 of the Croatian league. On the other hand, Kovalivka's last performance in the competition was great, they got a great balance and their counter-attack play is dangerous. I expect at least one goal from the guests here, a task that Rijeka also will probably manage to accomplish. Both teams to score is my call.