- Recent form: DAC Dunajska have won two of their last five matches (D1, L2), including a 2-1 home win against Bolton Wanderers in this competition.
- Away form: FK Velez Mostar have only won one of their last five away matches in all competitions (D3, L1).
- Bookmakers: DAC Dunajska are the clear favorites with bookmakers for this match.
DAC can disrupt disciplined Velež
Dunajska are the favorites with the bookmakers for Thursday's UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026 tie and they ought to justify that label with a win in Slovakia. Robert Klauss has set his team up to play in a vertical manner, with speed in transition and pressure on the opposition, and they can disrupt any teams that like to sit deep.
Tactical battle
This looks like that sort of game against Ibrahim Rahimic's 4-2-3-1 system, which is a disciplined set-up that sits deep, controls the centre of the field and can be dangerous on the break. Velez aren't in bad form but they are also not a high-scoring team, which means they will likely try to frustrate the home side.
Players and form
He can be a reliable finisher for DAC in the penalty area and Velez will need to mark him closely, while they will have to contain the home team's overall attacking threat. Velež have some quality of their own with Aldin Mesic leading the line for them as they prepare to play away from home in this first leg. Velez have been a tough team to beat with four wins, five draws and one defeat in their last 10 in all competitions but they lack a cutting edge to win away games.
That means the backline is there to be exploited, which is what I expect the hosts to do at MOL Arena. DAC score an average of 2.20 goals at home in all competitions and leak one per game on average, which is the kind of profile you expect to see from a front-foot team.
They have more bite than polish in their game as a look across their recent results would confirm with five wins, one draw and four defeats in their last 10. So I'm backing a home victory on Thursday but Velez are a resilient team so there may be no more than a single goal in it if they sit deep and can frustrate the hosts early on.
- DAC have won four of their last five home matches in all competitions and lost only once, so they can be ruthless if they can break through Velez's defense.
- Giorgi Gagua is their main out and out finisher with three of the team's seven goals across their last five coming from his boot.
- Mesic has a goal in this year's UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026 and is their most reliable finisher, but he isn't the kind of player to change the course of a game.
- Their away record across all competitions stands at one win, three draws and a defeat from the last five and they have conceded an average of 1.20 goals per away game in all competitions.
