Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros will lock horns in their final Champions League group-stage fixture on Tuesday night with a position in the knockout round of the Europa League up for grabs.
Both teams have collected one point from their five Group G matches, but the chance to claim third and a position in the Europa League makes this contest incredibly important for the two sides.
Match preview
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It was always going to be a tough ask for Dynamo to make a serious impression in the group considering the presence of both Barcelona and Juventus. Unsurprisingly, the Kiev giants lost both games against the top two but claimed a point away to Ferencvaros at the end of October.
Mircea Lucescu's team would secure third in the section with a win, although they would also make the Europa League if they draw 0-0, 1-1 or 2-2 due to the head-to-head record.
Dynamo have actually conceded seven times and scored zero in their last two European matches, although they did impress in a narrow 2-1 defeat at Barca on November 4, while the Ukrainian league leaders will enter the clash off the back of a 2-1 success away to Mariupol on Saturday.
The 28-time Ukrainian champions actually reached the semi-finals of the 1998-99 Champions League, but they have failed to make it out of the group in 13 of their last 14 appearances in the competition proper.
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Ferencvaros, meanwhile, are flying high at the top of the Hungarian league, moving onto 29 points from 11 matches with a 3-1 success away to Diosgyor on Saturday.
The Green Eagles suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to Barca last week but only lost 2-1 at Juve in their last away match and will certainly take heart from that performance ahead of Tuesday's clash.
Sergei Rebrov's side, as mentioned, would claim third with a win, while any draw other than 0-0, 1-1 or 2-2 would see the club secure a spot in the knockout round of the Europa League, which would be considered a huge success considering the strength of the group.
Ferencvaros are making just their second appearance in the group stages of the Champions League and their first since the 1995-96 season; they have actually lost just one of their last 10 European away games, though, and famously reached the quarter-finals of the 1965-66 European Cup before losing to Inter Milan.
Dynamo Kiev Champions League form: WLDLLL
Dynamo Kiev form (all competitions): LWLWLW
Ferencvaros Champions League form: DLDLLL
Ferencvaros form (all competitions): WWLWLW
Team News
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Dynamo will again be without the services of Vitaliy Buyalskiy, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Nazariy Rusyn, Vladimir Kostevych and Mykyta Burda for Tuesday's European contest.
The hosts could take to the field in a 4-5-1 formation, with Benjamin Verbic leading the line; Gerson Rodrigues is also expected to feature in an attacking position, while Mykola Shaparenko should start out wide.
Dynamo are the lowest scorers in the group with just three goals in their five matches and could rely on strength at the back to see them through against Ferencvaros.
As for Ferencvaros, only two members of their first-team squad had played in the Champions League before this season, with their only experience coming from Robert Mak and Oleksandr Zubkov.
The visitors are in good shape in terms of injuries, and there are not expected to be too many surprises in their starting lineup on Tuesday as they bid to make the Europa League.
Tokmac Nguen is the Hungarian side's leading scorer this season with 11 goals in 21 appearances, including one in the group stages of the Champions League, and the 27-year-old will lead the line.
Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Bushchan; Kedziora, Zabarnyi, Popov, Mykolenko; Tsygankov, Shepelev, Sydorchuk, Shaparenko, Rodrigues; Verbic
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Botka, Blazic, Frimpong, Dvali, Heister; Isael, Siger, Somalia, Uzuni; Nguen
We say: Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Ferencvaros
Both sides will fancy their chances of securing third spot in the section, but we just have a feeling for Ferencvaros in this match. The visitors arguably have the more productive players in the final third of the field, and we can see the Hungarian outfit shading a very tight game in Kiev.
