Clubs around Europe are competing to qualify for the 2019/20 Champions League Group stages this week.
On Wednesday 31st July we have a potentially great match to look forward to as AIK Fotboll meet NK Maribor at the Friends Arena, Stockholm.
This is a massive game for both teams as they attempt to reach the lucrative group stage and it is NK Maribor who have the advantage from the first leg. The Slovenians won the first leg 2-1 at home, so it is only a narrow lead and AIK Fotboll will be feeling confident about their chances on home soil.
Having lost the first leg 2-1 in Slovenia, AIK Fotboll returned to domestic action in the Allsvenskan on the weekend and won 2-0 at Sirius. That resulted coupled with Malmo’s 0-0 draw saw AIK Fotboll move level on points with the leaders.
Trends show AIK Fotboll have won four of their last five games in all competition. The only defeat was the first leg of this tie and they have won three in the Swedish league and one at home in the Champions League. The Champions League win was a 3-1 victory against Ararat-Armenia and the same scoreline in this game would be enough to see them through.
Vi har passerat 10 000 sålda biljetter till onsdagens viktiga Champions League-kvalretur hemma mot Maribor. Låt oss vända det här tillsammans! https://t.co/VY5nOMGy8L pic.twitter.com/dTkklO5nva— AIK Fotboll (@aikfotboll) July 29, 2019
Vi har passerat 10 000 sålda biljetter till onsdagens viktiga Champions League-kvalretur hemma mot Maribor. Låt oss vända det här tillsammans! https://t.co/VY5nOMGy8L pic.twitter.com/dTkklO5nva
AIK Fotboll have won two of their last three home matches in the Champions League but outside of this season, you must go back to 2010 to find their two previous home games in the competition.
NK Maribor were happy to get the win in the first leg but will be slightly disappointed they failed to keep a clean sheet. Nonetheless, it gives them an advantage but they followed up the win with a 0-0 home draw with Olimpija Ljubljana in the 1.SNL. It was not the result they were hoping for and means NK Maribor are still searching for their first league win of the new season having played three games.
Trends show NK Maribor are undefeated in their last four matches in all competitions. They have won two and drawn two and both wins have come in the Champions League. Each of the wins came at home and NK Maribor have won only one of their last five away Champions League games. The victory came this season away to Valur in the first qualifying round and it was a comprehensive 3-0 win.
Team news and AIK Fotboll are still waiting on the fitness of Jesper Nyholm, who is recovering from a broken leg and Joel Ekstrand may also be unavailable. The former has returned to training in recent weeks but is unlikely to start.
NK Maribor could be without up to four players for this match. Zan Kolmanic, Luka Uskokovic, Amir Dervisevic and Luka Zahovic have all be struggling for fitness.
This is going to be a tense game, with the home team not wanting to concede and the away team trying to keep their advantage from the first leg. However, AIK Fotboll need to score so there should be goals and we could see a draw with over 2.5 goals scored.