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Ballkani will entertain Zalgiris at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in the first-leg of UEFA Champions League first-round qualifying on Tuesday.
This will be the first-ever appearance in the qualification stage of the competition for the Kosovo-based hosts. They won their first-ever Superleague title last season and will be hoping to become the first Kosovan team to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.
Zalgiris have a long history in the qualification stage fixtures in the competition but have not yet qualified for the group stage. They made it to the playoffs of the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers last season, suffering a defeat against Bodo/Glimt.
Ballkani vs Zalgiris Head-to-Head
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
Ballkani form guide (all competitions): W
Zalgiris form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Ballkani vs Zalgiris Team News
Ballkani
Xhebrailat warmed up with a 2-0 win against Shkupi in a friendly game in June. The Kosovan team did not report any casualties apart from Rustem Hoxha ahead of the first leg tie. As this is their first-ever appearance in any UEFA-affiliated competition, they do not have any suspensions to worry about.
Head coach Ilir Daja is expected to field a strong team for the match as they aim to get their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
Injured: Rustem Hoxha
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Zalgiris
Žaliai Balti also have not report any injuries heading into this fixture. Veterans like Mantas Kuklys and Saulius Mikoliūnas, who have eight and six appearances in the qualifying stages of the competition, have been included in the squad.
Vladimir Cheburin is expected to field his strongest starting XI in an effort to earn the advantage before the home leg next week.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Ballkani vs Zalgiris Predicted XIs
Ballkani (4-3-3): Dashnor Balaj (GK); Armend Thaci, Arber Potoku, Astrit Thaqi, Egzon Sinani; Lumbardh Dellova, Lindon Emërllahu, Meriton Korenica; Albion Rrahmani, Nazmi Gripshi, Qendrim Zyba
Zalgiris (4-5-1): Edvinas Gertmonas (GK); Mario Pavelic, Kipras Kažukolovas, Dinmuhammed Kashken, Joel Bopesu; Nicolás Gorobsov, Saulius Mikoliūnas, Mantas Kuklys; Frances Kyeremeh, Josip Tadic; Renan Oliveira
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Ballkani vs Zalgiris Prediction
Ballkani will be looking to leave a good account of themselves ahead of their first-ever match in UEFA Champions League qualifying. They played just one friendly game ahead of this encounter but were solid in that game, and they are expected to have a good outing here.
Zalgiris have won four games in a row ahead of this match and travel to Kosovo in good form. They are expected to have a decent outing in the first leg. Given the form of the two sides, a high-scoring draw seems to be on the cards here.
Prediction: Ballkani 2-2 Zalgiris
