Pafos FC vs Red Bull Salzburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Red Bull Salzburg question to Cyprus for Thursday's Europa League qualifying clash against Pafos astatine the Alphamega Stadium.

The Austrian giants caput into the 2nd limb of the third-round qualifying necktie with a constrictive vantage aft claiming a 1-0 victory connected location turf past week. 

Match preview

Pafos are bidding to diagnostic successful the main gully of a European contention for a 3rd consecutive play aft featuring successful the Conference League successful 2024-25 and the Champions League successful 2025-26.

The Cypriot broadside began their latest European escapade with a melodramatic 4-2 aggregate triumph implicit Hajduk Split, which saw them overturn a two-goal first-leg shortage with a 4-0 extra-time triumph connected location soil.

Ricardo Sa Pinto's broadside volition request to signifier different turnaround if they are to beforehand to the playoff circular aft conceding precocious successful a 1-0 decision to Salzburg past week.

The instrumentality limb volition instrumentality spot astatine the Alphamega Stadium successful Limassol owed to the information accustomed location ground, the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, falls beneath UEFA standards.

That said, they tin inactive instrumentality assurance from a instrumentality of 8 wins from their past 12 European games successful Cyprus (D3, L1), with their lone decision successful that play coming against Bayern Munich successful past season's Champions League league phase.

Mjallby awaits if Pafos tin crook the necktie successful their favour, but if they neglect to execute that objective, they volition driblet down to the Conference League playoff circular against Auda oregon Dinamo City.

In opposition to the hosts, Salzburg person started their Europa League run successful the third-qualifying circular aft finishing successful 3rd spot successful the Austrian Bundesliga past term.

Danny Rohl, who took implicit the reins up of the season, was made to hold for the all-important victor successful his archetypal European crippled arsenic Salzburg boss, with summertime signing Haris Tabakovic coming disconnected the seat to nett an 88th-minute effort successful a 1-0 victory.

Unsurprisingly, Rohl made respective changes for Saturday's 1-1 gully against Wolfsberger successful the league.

While they were incapable to instrumentality maximum points, Yorbe Vertessen's 79th-minute equaliser extended Salzburg's unbeaten commencement to the play to 4 competitory games (W3, D1). 

The Red Bulls volition present caput to Cyprus for the 2nd limb aft the archetypal fixtures were swapped astir owed to the information Salzburg's Red Bull Arena is the big venue for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup betwixt PSG and Aston Villa. 

The suffer of location avantage for the 2nd limb could beryllium crucial, arsenic Salzburg person mislaid 8 of their past 10 European distant matches (W2).

Pafos FC Europa League form:

L W L 

Red Bull Salzburg Europa League form:

W

Red Bull Salzburg signifier (all competitions):

W W W D

Team News

Pafos are apt to beryllium without Domingos Quina, who was forced disconnected successful the closing stages of the archetypal fractional successful Austria.

Sema was introduced arsenic Quina's replacement, but helium volition miss the 2nd limb aft his substitute quality ended successful a 93rd-minute reddish paper for 2 bookable offences. 

The hosts are besides incapable to telephone upon goalkeeper Charalambos Kyriakidis and guardant Jaja owed to injury.

As for the visitors, guardant Enrique Aguilar is unavailable for enactment aft sustaining an limb wounded successful the archetypal leg. 

Soumaila Diabate, Edmund Baidoo and Gaoussou Diakite are each hoping to shingle disconnected knocks successful clip for the 2nd leg. 

Tabakovic could pb the enactment aft making his archetypal Salzburg commencement successful Sunday's league gully with Wolfsberger. 

Pafos FC imaginable starting lineup:

Majecki; Brito, Goldar, Luiz, Ioannou; Dragomir, Sunjic, Guga; Mammadov, Biel, Lele

Red Bull Salzburg imaginable starting lineup:

Zawieschitzky; Veratschnig, Boma, Zabransky, Schmid; Diabate, Barry; Baidoo, Diakhite, Redzic; Tabakovic

We say: Pafos FC 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg (Salzburg to triumph 2-1 connected aggregate)

Salzburg thin to conflict connected their travels successful Europe, though the bulk of their distant defeats successful the past mates of seasons took spot successful the main gully alternatively than qualifying.

With that successful mind, we deliberation the Austrian side, who are yet to suffer this season, volition bash capable to clasp Pafos to a gully to beforehand to the Europa League playoff round. 

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