Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Europa League match.
Last season saw a surprising turn of events in Polish football, with Wisla Krakow, a mid-table team in second division, winning the Polish Cup. While they remain out of the elite for the current campaign, bookmakers give them good odds to overcome Llapi in the opening match for qualification to the Europa League.
Despite a successful game in the Polish Cup, Wisla’s management decided to part ways with the previous coaching staff. For their new manager, Moskla, this match will be his first official game in charge. The only exhibition game Krakow lost to Puszcza (0:1): there the team played almost unbeaten and missed the goal in the end. In the Europa League qualification, they will likely focus on a strong defense, having signed full-back Kiakos from PAS Giannina to add strength to their backline.
The previous Kosovo champion is the underdog of this match. Their team costs 2.5 million euros less than the opponents (€4,4 million vs €6,9 million). Team’s biggest financial success this summer was the €650,000 sale of forward Huseni to Danish side Horsens. In friendlies Botanian players haven’t been impressive, scoring only three goals in four matches.
Success in this first round of Europa League qualifying is crucial for both teams. Both Wisla and Llapi are likely to play a cautious game, and we’re unlikely to see more than two goals in the match.
