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Maribor will square off against HJK at the Ljudski vrt in the first leg of Europa League third-round qualifying on Thursday.
Both teams were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifiers last week. Maribor suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Sheriff while HJK were thrashed 7-1 on aggregate by Viktoria Plzen in their second-round qualifying fixture.
Maribor have not qualified for the group stage of a UEFA competition since their appearance in the group stage of the Champions League 2017-18 campaign. HJK made it to the group stage of the Conference League last season and will be looking to qualify for the second season in a row.
Maribor vs HJK Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides across all competitions. The home side have not taken on a team from Finland, though HJK have two games against a Slovenian team to their name.
They met Olimpija Ljublanja twice in third-round qualifiers in the 2018-19 season. They suffered a defeat in both legs of the fixture.
Maribor form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-D-L
HJK form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-L-W
Maribor vs HJK Team News
Maribor
Marko Božić, Martin Milac and Aleks Pihler were not in the squad for the game against Sheriff due to injuries. Nino Žuglja and Rok Sirko suffered injuries in that game and their involvement remains doubtful. Azbe Jug has not been included in the squad for this game.
Injury: Marko Božić, Martin Milac, Aleks Pihler.
Doubtful: Nino Žuglja, Rok Sirko.
Suspension: None.
Unavailable: Azbe Jug.
HJK
Manuel Martic, Roope Riski and Valtteri Moren continue to be sidelined for Klubi while Riku Riski has not been included in the squad and remains unavailable.
Injury: Manuel Martic, Roope Riski, Valtteri Moren.
Doubtful: None.
Suspension: None.
Unavailable: Riku Riski.
Maribor vs HJK Predicted XIs
Maribor (4-2-3-1): Menno Bergsen (GK); Ignacio Guerrico, Nemanja Mitrović, Max Watson, Gregor Sikošek; Jan Repas, Rok Kronaveter; Danijel Šturm, Nino Žugelj, Ivan Brnić; Roko Baturina
HJK (3-4-3): Conor Hazard (GK); Miro Tenho, Arttu Hoskonen, Janne Saksela; David Browne, Pyry Soiri, Përparim Hetemaj, Murilo; Santeri Hostikka, Malik Abubakari, Bojan Radulović
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Maribor vs HJK Prediction
Vijoličasti have scored in just one of the four games in the qualifying campaign thus far, while HJK have failed to score in just one of their four matches. Maribor are struggling with injuries at the moment which might impact their performance and they might fall to a defeat in this encounter.
Prediction: Maribor 0-1 HJK
