On Thursday night, Hadjuk Split hosts Slavia Sofia in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg.
Hadjuk Split heads into this clash as favourites against a young Slavia Sofia, who are underdogs to progress to the next round of the competition.
The home side has a mixed recent record in the Europa League, winning three of their last eight games in the competition. The Croatian side’s recent games in the Europa League have been low scoring, with five of their last six games producing under 2.5 goals.
Hadjuk are unbeaten in 90 minutes in their last six Europa League home games, recording five wins in the process. A 1-1 draw with Everton in their last Europa League game on home soil ended a five-game winning run.
In fact, the Croatian side has lost just once in their 12 Europa League games on home soil, so they are formidable opponents on their own patch.
A European adventure is rather a new experience for the visitors. This season is only their second in the Europa League, having made their debut in the competition in 2016 when they suffered a 3-1 aggregate defeat by Polish side Zaglebie Lubin. Slavia defeated Finnish side Ilves 3-1 on aggregate to set up this clash.
Slavia’s short history in the Europa League consists of three wins and one defeat, so they have been no pushovers in European competition. Their away record in the Europa League has been mixed, as they have won one and lost one of their games on their travels in the competition.
The visitor’s recent away record has not been great in all competitions, as they have won one of their last four games on their travels in competitive action.
Forebet predicts that Hadjuk Split will record a victory in a low scoring encounter, which would give the hosts a big chance of progressing into the next round.