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Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Shkendija and FCSB, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
North Macedonian champions Shkendija will welcome Romanian title-holders FCSB on Tuesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie.
Shkendija have reached this stage of the competition for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, while FCSB will be aiming to gain an early advantage as they bid to reach the third round for a second successive season.
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After holding Welsh outfit The New Saints to a goalless draw away from home in the first leg of their opening qualifier, Shkendija returned to Tetovo needing a big performance, and they delivered.
Despite conceding early, Fabrice Tamba equalised before half time, and the tie eventually went to extra time, but with penalties looming, the hosts were handed a late lifeline in the 116th minute when an own goal sealed a dramatic passage into the second round.
That result extended Shkendija’s unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions, with two wins and two draws recorded in that run.
Tuesday’s encounter will be the first-ever meeting between Shkendija and the visitors, though the Macedonian side do have past success against Romanian opposition, having defeated Botosani 1-0 in the second round of the 2020-21 Europa League qualifiers.
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FCSB also progressed through the first round, having done the damage early with a 2-0 win over Inter Club d’Escaldes in the first leg.
Despite a nervy 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture in Andorra, the Red and Blues held on to progress with a 3-2 aggregate win.
The Romanian champions will take confidence from their recent experience at this stage last season, they edged past Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 on aggregate to book a third-round spot.
FCSB are already two games into their domestic season, having opened with a draw before earning a narrow 1-0 win over Petrolul last time out.
Shkendija Champions League form:
Shkendija form (all competitions):
FCSB Champions League form:
FCSB form (all competitions):
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Shkendija head into this clash with a fully fit squad and no suspensions to contend with, leaving them with several options.
Manager Jeton Beqiri is expected to stick with his strongest XI, with experienced striker Besart Ibraimi set to lead the line.
FCSB, meanwhile, will be without two key defenders, as Octavian Popescu remains sidelined, while Alexandru Pantea is struggling with a muscle injury.
Youngster Alexandru Stoian, who netted the winner in FCSB’s last match, may drop to the bench for this one, with Florin Tanase likely to start in attack.
Shkendija possible starting lineup:
Amzai; Trumci, Cake, Meliqi, Webster; Alhassan, R Ramdani; Tamba, Krasniqi, Latifi; Ibraimi
FCSB possible starting lineup:
Tarnovanu; Graovac, Cretu, Ngezana, Radunovic; Sut, Chiriches; Politic, Olaru, Cisotti; Tanase
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Sport We say: Shkendija 1-1 FCSB
Shkendija head into this tie in better form and will look to make their home advantage count, but FCSB boast greater quality across the pitch and should have enough to come away with a positive result ahead of the second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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