The second leg of the 2025/26 Europa Conference League second qualifying round between Neman (Belarus) and Kosice (Slovakia) will take place on July 31 at the Szent Gellért Stadium in Szeged, Hungary. The first leg ended with a 3-2 victory for Neman. Neman vs. Kosice: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Neman
Igor Kovalevich's side triumphed in the first leg with a 3-2 away win. Notably, Neman was trailing by two goals at halftime but managed to turn the game in their favor. This victory marked their third consecutive win in the Europa Conference League, during which the Belarusians scored nine goals. Now, to advance to the next qualifying round, the team from Grodno needs to avoid defeat over 90 minutes.
- The team has not lost in regulation time in 8 of their last 11 Europa Conference League matches (5 wins, 3 draws).
- At least three goals have been scored in 5 of the club's last 6 matches in this European competition.
- The Belarusians have not conceded more than one goal in regulation time in 8 of their last 11 Europa Conference League games.
Projected lineup for Neman (4-5-1)
Maxim Belov – Konstantin Kuchinskiy, Egor Parkhomenko, Ivan Sadovnichiy, Sergey Pushnyakov – Amantur Shamurzaev, Andrey Yakimov, Egor Zubovich, Mikhail Kozlov, Anton Suchkov – Pavel Savitskiy.
Kosice
In the first leg, Roman Skuhravy's team had a chance to salvage a draw but missed a penalty in the closing stages. As a result, Kosice suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in European competitions, conceding 14 goals during this period. However, in their last seven European club tournament matches, the team scored 11 goals. To advance to the next round, the Slovaks need to win by at least two goals in regulation time, and if they win by one goal, extra time will be played.
- The team has not won in 7 of their last 10 away matches in the Slovak Championship (3 draws, 4 losses).
- No more than two goals have been scored in 8 of the club's last 10 away games in this tournament.
- Kosice scored exactly 1 or 2 goals in 6 of their last 9 away matches in the Slovak Championship.
Projected lineup for Kosice (3-5-2)
David Šipoš – Jan Krivak, Jakub Jakubko, Dominik Kružliak – Matej Madleňák, Roman Čerepkai, David Gallovič, Marek Žigmund, Daniel Magda – Karlo Miljanić, Vladimir Perišić.
Referee
Walter Altmann (Austria)
Matches – 5 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 20;
Average yellow cards per match – 4;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 21;
Penalties – 40%.
Neman vs. Kosice: Match Prediction
In the first encounter, the teams delivered a high-scoring game, and I expect a lot of goals in the return leg as well. Moreover, Neman has not scored less than two goals in the current Europa Conference League campaign, and in their last five home matches in this tournament, they failed to score only once. However, the Belarusians cannot boast a solid defense, having conceded ten goals in their last five home games in the Europa Conference League.
Kosice has not played in European competitions for a long time, and although they do not shine in away results in the Slovak Championship, they regularly find the net. In their last 12 away matches in this tournament, the club failed to break through the opponents' defense only four times, and in five games during this period, they scored at least two goals. Meanwhile, in their last 30 away matches in the championship, Kosice managed to keep a clean sheet only six times. I believe the opponents will once again deliver an exciting attacking performance, so my prediction: Total over 2.5 goals
