Klaksvik vs Malmo
Klaksvik must stage a comeback unheard of to progress beyond the Champions League second qualifying round as they take on Malmo at the Við Djúpumýrar.
Klaksvik comfortably dispatched Differdange 2-0 on aggregate in the opening qualifying round, but their Champions League run probably ends here following a disastrous 4-1 first-leg defeat in Sweden last week. Manager Haakon Lunov hopes his side can produce a better first-half performance after falling three goals behind before halftime in the first leg. There’s a legitimate reason for KI to hope for a more favorable outcome, considering they have only suffered one loss across their last 11 home matches in European football (W6, D4). Klaksvik’s defensive solidity saw them keep six clean sheets across those 11 games and only concede more than one goal once in the other five, suggesting the inferior hosts are well-positioned to avoid another catastrophic result.
On the other hand, Malmo might have let complacency get the better of them following a thumping win in the Faroe Islands as they lost 1-0 at home to domestic minnows Sirius at the weekend. Despite that shocking result and their first scoring blank in competitive action in 2024, the visitors still sit atop the Allsvenskan standings. Though they must be keen to return to winning ways, the reigning Swedish champions have recently stuttered on the road, picking up just two wins in their last five away matches (W2, D2, L1). But four of those five have seen over 2.5 goals and ‘both teams to score,’ indicating the Við Djúpumýrar crowd could be in for a treat.