FC Zurich will be seeking to overturn a one-goal deficit when the welcome Qarabag FK to Stadion Letzigrund for the second leg of their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.
The visitors currently lead 3-2 from the first leg, with the winners of this tie set to face ethier Ferencvaros or Lovan Bratislava in the third qualifying round.
Zurich were condemned to their third consecutive defeat across all competitions when they lost their five-goal thriller to Qarabag last week.
Franco Foda’s side have since responded with a goalless draw at home to Luzern in their second Swiss Super League match of the new season.
While a draw may be considered an underwhelming result, Zurich managed to keep a clean sheet after conceding 10 goals in their previous three matches across all competitions, including a 4-0 defeat against Young Boys in their opening league game.
They will be keen to turn their fortunes around on home soil, where they have impressed over the last 12 months as they have lost just two of their last 23 matches at Stadion Letzigrund across all competitions.
Following a 5-2 aggregate win over Lech Poznan in the previous round, Qarabag now boast a one-goal advantage over Zurich as they aim to move one step closer to qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2017-18.
Gurban Gurbanov will have taken plenty of positives from his side’s performance last week, and Qarabag know that securing at least a draw on Wednesday will prove enough to send them through to the next round.
Qarabag reached the Europa Conference League knockout stages last season, but are yet to begin the defence of their top-flight title and they have threrfore put full attention on getting the job done against Zurich and securing a spot in the next round.
FC Zurich vs Qarabag FK head to head
The two teams have previously met on just two occasions in a friendly and in the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifying tie, where Qarabag have claimed one victory while they have drawn once. Qarabag have scored four goals and conceded three in the process.
Zurich 1-1 Qarabag 21/01/15
Qarabag 3-2 Zurich 19/07/22
FC Zurich latest home form
FC Zurich have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Luzern in their last home game in the Super League. In their last five matches, they have scored 18 goals and conceded seven.
Zurich 2-2 Lausanne Sport 12/05/22
Zurich 2-3 Luzern 22/05/22
Zurich 11-0 Baden 15/06/22
Zurich 3-2 Wil 18/06/22
Zurich 0-0 Luzern 23/07/22
FC Zurich latest away form
FC Zurich have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having lost each of their three most recent matches. They lost 3-2 to Qarabag in their last away game in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 14 goals and conceded 11.
Thalwil 0-7 Zurich 12/06/22
Viktoria Koln 1-3 Zurich 22/06/22
Stuttgart 3-2 Zurich 09/07/22
Young Boys 4-0 Zurich 16/07/22
Qarabag 3-2 Zurich 19/07/22
Qarabag FK latest home form
Qarabag have recently been on a good run of form at home and have been unbeaten in their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Zurich 3-2 in their last home game in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 14 goals and conceded five.
Qarabag (P)1-1 Zira 27/05/22
Qarabag 4-0 Botosani 25/06/22
Qarabag 1-1 Universitatea Craiova 29/06/22
Qarabag 5-1 Lech Poznan 12/07/22
Qarabag 3-2 Zurich 19/07/22
Qarabag FK latest away form
Qarabag lost 1-0 to Lech Poznan in their last away game in the Champions League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, as they have been unbeaten in their previous eight matches. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded four.
Qabala 1-3 Qarabag 20/04/22
Qabala 0-2 Qarabag 24/04/22
Sabail 0-3 Qarabag 15/05/22
Holstein Kile 2-2 Qarabag 29/06/22
Lech Poznan 1-0 Qarabag 05/07/22
FC Zurich news
Zurich will make do without defender Becir Omeragic due to a muscle injury, but Franco Foda has otherwise a fully fit squad to choose from the second leg.
Wilfried Gnonto is expected to be handed another start in attack alongside Fabian Rohner and Antonio Marchesano, while Blerim Dzemaili is likely to start in centre-midfield.
Qarabag FK news
Qarabag head into the game with a clean bill of health and Gurbanov is unlikely to make too many changes to the starting lineup he named last week.
Summer signing Julio Romao was not registered in time to take part in the first leg, but he could be handed his debut on Wednesday.
Prediction and Odds
Both teams caused trouble for one another in the final third last week and more goalmouth action is to be expected in the second leg.
However, Qarabag are likely to force for a share of the spoils which would be enough for them to progress to the next round on aggregate.
Odds: 1 2.26 X 2.05 2 2.15
Probable outcomes
Zurich 0-0 Qarabag
Zurich 1-1 Qarabag
Zurich 2-2 Qarabag
Zurich 0-1 Qarabag
Zurich 1-2 Qarabag
