On Tuesday, Slovan Bratislava will host NK Celje at Stadion Tehelné Pole for the second leg of their Champions League qualifying clash.
The tie is finely balanced following a 1-1 draw in Slovenia last Wednesday. David Strelec scored for Slovan Bratislava in the 11th minute to cancel out Luka Bobicanec's early goal for Celje. The Slovakian side played most of the match with 10 men after Kyriakos Savvidis was sent off, yet managed to hold on for the draw.
The winner of this tie will face either APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus or Petrocub Hincesti of Moldova in the next round.
Slovan Bratislava has won the Slovak Championship for the sixth year in a row. Having reached the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase last term, they are bidding to reach the Champions League group phase for the first time.
The Sky Blues, competing in Champions League qualifying for the sixth consecutive season after retaining their domestic Championship, began their European campaign with a 6-3 aggregate win over North Macedonian side Struga.
They then shifted focus to their domestic season, kicking off their title defense with a 4-1 away victory over newly-promoted Komarno on Saturday.
The Slovakian champions are now entirely focused on reaching the third round of Champions League qualifying for the second year in a row.
Greek midfielder Kyriakos Savvidis was sent off in the first half of Slovan Bratislava's trip to Slovenia last week, so Vladimir Weiss would be forced to reshuffle his starting XI here. With Savvidis sidelined through suspension, summer signing Julius Szoke could start alongside veteran Juraj Kucka in the middle.
Defensively, Weiss will likely stick with the center-back trio of Kenan Bajric, Kevin Wimmer, and experienced Georgian international Guram Kashia, who captained his country at Euro 2024 after a strong showing in the first leg.
Up front, Slovak international David Strelec, who has scored in the last two matches, will aim to continue his good form as a leader.
Elsewhere, experienced Armenian winger Tigran Barseghyan, who scored 13 goals and 11 assists in 31 top-flight games last season, may have to settle for a place on the bench. Robert Mak and captain Vladimír Weiss Jr. are expected to flank the centre-forward.
Celje, the reigning Slovenian PrvaLiga champions, are in Champions League qualifying for the first time since the 2020-21 season. They advanced to this stage with a dominant 7-1 aggregate win over Flora Tallinn of Estonia in the First qualifying round.
Following their success in Europe, Celje claimed a 2-1 comeback win over Bravo in their league opener, extending their winning streak to three games earlier this month. However, their run was halted with last week's 1-1 draw against Slovan Bratislava, leaving them needing a positive result in the away leg to progress further.
Slovenia's champions will once again be managed by Albert Riera, the former Liverpool and Manchester City winger who led the club between July 2023 and October 2023 before he was tempted to join French Ligue 2 side Bordeaux.
However, after the popular French club's recent bankruptcy, Riera returned to Celje and signed a two-year contract with the Yellow and Blues.
The first stern test comes only hours after Riera's re-appointment. The Spaniard will have to beat the odds, as Slovan Bratislava is considered a favorite to advance from this tie.
For the Slovenian side, midfielder Tamar Svetlin, who was forced off in the first half of the first leg, will be assessed for fitness. If Svetlin is unavailable, the new Celje head coach might start Mario Kvesic.
Lithuania international Armandas Kucys is expected to feature in the attack, supported by Aljosa Matko and Luka Menalo.
Slovan Bratislava will take confidence from their first-leg draw, especially considering they played much of the match with ten men.
Utilizing home advantage, the Slovakian champions are likely to secure a narrow victory and advance to the next round even though they have conceded a goal in their four competitive matches since the start of their 2024-25 campaign.
