The Europa Conference League first leg qualifying round is upon us as Tirana and Dinamo Batumi clash in the first leg at the Stadiumi Selman Stërmasi in Albania with the latter recently ending their domestic campaign.
Over in the Erovnuli Liga in Georgia, Batumi are once again sitting top of the league. The club have so far won 12 games and lost only once in the top flight, having now scored 40 goals and let in 21 after a win over Saburtalo in the last outing.
Flamarion scored that day in a comeback win before Vladimer Mamuchashvili scored from the penalty spot.
Elsewhere in recent weeks, Batiumi have lost the Georgian Super Cup final after a penalty victory in the semi-finals over Torpedo Kutaisi that came in before losing on penalties in the final to Dinamo Tbilisi.
Elsewhere towards the end of the domestic calendar, Batiumi also defeated Tbilisi in the league, alongside wins over Telavi, Gagra and Samtredia, while drawing with Samgurali and Torpedo Kutaisi once more.
They did lose a game towards the end of the season, as Dila defeated them at home in what was the club's only loss in the Erovnuli Liga.
In fact, after losing the Georgian Super Cup final on penalties, that defeat was their only one in 90 minutes across the entire season.
As for Tirana, they finished second in their SuperLiga campaign over in Albania.
Quite incredibly, the club secured the same amount of wins as Partizani at the top of the table, while also drawing and losing the same amount with 20 victories and nine losses across 36 outings.
In fact, they both scored 56 goals too, but they lost the league title due to the head-to-head record that saw Partizani steal seven points compared to Tirana’s four.
Nevertheless, it was a fantastic season for them in many regards.
Tirana did win their final game of the season back in late May, as Erzeni fell to a late loss when Kristal Abazaj scored in the 97th minute of the game after Rimal Haxhiu's opener.
Tirana did also go on to lose the Albanian Cup final to Egnatia after a 1-0 loss in a game that also saw Evri Berisha sent off in the first half.
Forebet predicts the game to see a draw in the first leg which will open things drastically in the second leg. Forebet also predicts the game to see over 2.5 goals.