Hibs will kick off their European campaign in Pristina on Thursday afternoon as they take on KF Malisheva at the Pristina City Stadium in the first leg of their Conference League second-round tie.
Hibs qualified for Europe for the second consecutive season as they finished in fifth position in the Scottish Premiership last term.
After defeating Partizan Belgrade 4-3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round, David Gray’s men looked set for the league phase of the Conference League as they led Legia Warsaw by the same scoreline.
However, the Hibees conceded in stoppage time against the Poles, before conceding again in extra time, seeing their European hopes come to an end.
Malisheva – who finished runner-up in the superleague of Kosovo last season – have already been in European action this campaign, as they defeated Albanian side Vllashina Shkoder 6-2 in the previous round.
Thomas Brdaric’s hosts lost the first leg in Albania 1-2, before a resounding 5-0 victory at home in front of their supporters sealed their passage to this stage.
How the bookies view it: Hibees favourites
Hibs are favourites to take back a first-leg lead to Easter Road next week, with bet365 pricing an away success at 8/15.
Malisheva are 15/4 to follow up their 5-0 victory against Albanian side Vllashina Skhoder last week, whilst the draw is 3/1.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Thursday’s clash in Pristina will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: High start for Lowe
New Hibs signing Nathan Lowe bagged a double in the Hibees’ 2-1 victory over Brondby in a friendly over the weekend, and will look to back that up by getting his first competitive goal in Pristina on Thursday night.
Kreshnik Uka had a terrific performance in the second leg of their victory over Vllaznia Shkoder last week, as he was involved in three of the five goals, scoring two and setting up another.
However, there are currently no goal-scorer markets available at the time of writing.
Predicted line-ups:
Malisheva are expected to name a similar lineup to the one that started last week’s 5-0 thrashing of Vllashina Skhoder.
Hibs will be without the injured Rocky Bushiri, Nicky Cadden, Jamie McGrath and Josh Campbell for Thursday’s trip to Pristina.
KF Malisheva: Avdyli, Veliu, Kryeziu, Shani, Pira, Vitija, Ferati, Xhylani, Iskenderli, Uka, Ibishi
Hibernian: Sallinger, O’Hora, Hanley, Obita, Passlack, Mulligan, Chaiwa, Mayor, Wright, Boyle, Lowe
Anything else catch the eye?
Hibs travel to Pristina as favourites, but Scottish sides minus the Old Firm are rarely reliable in Europe, and backing goals seems a far more sensible play.
Both Teams to Score paid out in 5/6 (83%) of Hibs’ European qualifiers last term, and a repeat pays an appealing 1/1 at bet365.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
Malisheva’s two legs in the previous round against Vllashina Skhoder produced eight goals – with Over 2.5 Goals landing on each occasion – and a repeat pays 17/20 at bet365.
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