Union SG and Lugano will fight for a place in the Europa League group stage on Thursday. Following third-place finishes in the Belgian and Swiss top flights, respectively, the two teams enter European qualifying at this point, with a guaranteed spot in the group stage of either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League for the losers.
Preview (Union SG vs. Lugano)
Union SG secured a spot in this year’s Europa League playoff round thanks to their third-place finish in the Belgian Pro League last season. The team hopes to advance further in the competition after reaching the quarterfinals of their first-ever international campaign. Les Unionistes advanced to the round of 16 of Europe’s second championship by defeating German team Union Berlin 6-3 over two legs after exiting Champions League qualifying. They finished first in their group with 13 points after six games.
After finishing third in the league and losing Karel Geraerts over the summer, the Belgian team picked up where they left off under Alexander Blessin’s new management at the start of this season, winning three straight Belgian Pro League matches against Anderlecht, Standard Liege, and Leuven before losing in a difficult quarterfinal match against Bayer Leverkusen. They do, however, enter the test on the heels of their first loss. Union were defeated 4-0 away at Mechelen on Saturday. They lost out to goals from Kerim Mrabti, Geoffry Hairemans, Rafik Belghali, and David Bates. Blessin’s team will be eager to quickly recover and get on the offensive in Thursday’s test.
In order to continue improving, Mattia Croci-Torti’s team subsequently shifted their attention to the upcoming season. They began by winning consecutive games against Stade Lausanne-Ouchy and St. Gallen before losing 3-0 on a challenging journey to FC Zurich. Despite falling behind early, the Bianconeri came back to defeat Yverdon Sport 6-1 with goals from Jonathan Sabbatini, Shkelqim Vladi, Mattia Bottani, Milton Valenzuela, Renato Steffen, and an own goal by Anthony Sauthier.
Team News
Despite their recent humiliating loss to Mechelen, Alexander Blessin should field a starting lineup similar to the one that has played thus far in the Belgian Pro League season, with Dennis Eckert likely to once again lead the attack after scoring four goals in four appearances thus far. The top scorers from the previous season, Victor Boniface, Simon Adingra, and Teddy Teuma, are no longer with the team. He has been supported by Cameron Puertas and Mathias Rasmussen. Both of whom should keep their spots in the front three. Lazare Amani and Charles Vanhoutte will probably continue to work together in the back.
Kevin Mac Allister, Christian Burgess, and Koki Machida will once more form a 3-4-3 formation to defend keeper Anthony Moris. Shkelqim Vladi, who scored in both that game and their most recent cup victory over Gunzwil. He is expected to lead the line for Lugano. They could use the same starting lineup that defeated Yverdon Sport 6-1 in the Swiss Super League in mid-August. Renato Steffen scored three goals in the two matches.
Albian Hajdari and Kreshnik Hajrizi should once again team up at the center of a back four. Seasoned midfielder Jonathan Sabbatini continues to play a crucial role next to Uran Bislimi in the center of the field. We think Blessin’s team will have the advantage in their home leg, putting everything up for grabs the following week.
Union SG 3 – 1 Lugano
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