Preview: Ferencvaros vs. FK Zalgiris - prediction, team news, lineups

Hungarian champions Ferencvaros look to take one step closer to the group stage of Europe's premier competition on Tuesday, when they meet Lithuania's FK Zalgiris in Budapest.

The hosts were runaway winners of their domestic league last season, while finishing bottom of Champions League Group G, so will seek another shot at the big time by making it through the second qualifying round.

Match preview

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Having enjoyed a rare taste of mixing with the cream of European football last year, when they competed with Juventus, Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League group stage, Ferencvaros are intent on returning to the continent's top table again this term.

After claiming their 32nd league title - and third in succession; this time by a margin of 20 points - Fradi are now three steps away from making their third appearance in the competition proper, having previously featured in 1995-96.

While coach Serhiy Rebrov recently departed for UAE's Al-Ain, following a successful spell at the Budapest club, new coach Peter Stoger - once briefly in charge of Borussia Dortmund - has safely guided his team through the first round of the qualification process.

A 3-0 home win was followed by last week's comfortable 3-1 success over Kosovar side Prishtina, ahead of this tie with Zalgiris and the upcoming start of their Hungarian league title defence.

Morale-boosting friendly wins over Ludogorets and Legia Warsaw have also helped Stoger settle in seamlessly, with midfielder Kristoffer Zachariassen - who scored 21 goals in 45 games for Rosenborg and is currently the leading marksman in the Norwegian top flight - joining fellow new boy Stjepan Loncar in strengthening Fradi's midfield options this year.

Though arriving as underdogs from a weaker domestic league, Zalgiris can boast their own midfield maestro in the shape of Ogenyi Onazi, who previously spent four years with Serie A side Lazio and was on the scoresheet as his current team ended Linfield's hopes in the first qualifying round.

Another first-half strike from former Hearts defender Saulius Mikoliunas proved enough to seal the Lithuanian champions' progress at Windsor Park, resulting in a 2-1 win to back up their 3-1 success on home soil.

The Vilnius-based club have been in action in the A Lyga since March and currently top the table once again, just two points clear of Suduva, who they will face between the two legs of this European tie.

While modestly funded by comparison with Ferencvaros, they are unbeaten in all competitions since May, so Zalgiris can travel south with some hope of pulling off an upset in the Hungarian capital.

Team News

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New boss Peter Stoger sent his Ferencvaros team out in an offensive 4-2-3-1 formation for both legs of the first qualifying round tie with Prishtina, so is expected to retain that shape on Tuesday.

Albanian winger Myrto Uzuni's second-leg hat-trick should prove enough to keep his place on the right flank, while Slovakia international Robert Mak will start on the opposite side.

Franck Boli and Ryan Mmaee - who arrived from AEL Limassol earlier this month, to join his brother Samy Mmaee at the club - are the main candidates to start up front. Fellow new boys Stjepan Loncar and Kristoffer Zachariassen, meanwhile, are unlikely to feature just yet.

Zalgiris will be without two first-choice players for the first leg, as both centre-back Elhadji Pape Diaw and midfielder Karolis Uzela were dismissed in Belfast last time out in this competition - the latter for a crude 89th-minute challenge on Linfield's Cammy Palmer.

Serbian defender Ivan Tatomirovic is favourite to deputise for Diaw alongside club captain Saulius Mikoliunas, who will start at right-back.

Up front, well-travelled Croatian striker Josip Tadic will compete with Jakub Sylvestr to take the centre-forward role.

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Wingo, Blazic, S. Mmaee, Civic; Siger, Kharatin; Uzuni, Nguen, Mak; Boli

FK Zalgiris possible starting lineup:
Gertmonas; Mikoliunas, Tatomirovic, Ljubisavljevic, Bopesu; Onazi, Gamakov, Verbickas; Kyeremeh, Sylvestr, Videmont

We say: Ferencvaros 3-1 FK Zalgiris

Though Zalgiris are on a long unbeaten run and certainly should be more match fit, Ferencvaros are a step up in class for the men from Vilnius, so their back line could be breached more than once on Tuesday.

The visitors do, though, pose a distinct threat in the final third, so can find the net themselves to keep slim hopes of a second-leg comeback alive.