Difficult task for Birkirkara in Tórshavn

After being held in a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Preliminary Round at the Centenary Stadium last week, Birkirkara face a difficult task trying to getting a positive result which could see them through to the next round as they take on KÍ Klaksvík in the second leg at the Tórshavn on Thursday, kick-off at 20:00. Žalgiris Vilnius of Lithuania await the winner in the first qualifying round.

The Stripes have to beat Klaksvík or at least claim a 2-2 draw. In case of a 1-1 draw, extra-time would be necessary.

In the first leg, coach Paul Zammit had to deal with the absence of five injured players and in Tórshavn, he hopes that Kurt Zammit, Ryan Scicluna and Paul Fenech will be available for selection.

KÍ Klaksvík chase their first ever qualification to a further round in a European competition as in eight previous attempts in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, the closest they came to reaching a second round was in 2002 when they were eliminated by Újpest FC of Hungary with a 2-3 aggregate score.

Deni Pavlović’s late equaliser in the first leg was ironically the first goal away from home for KÍ Klaksvík.