- Midtjylland have won 4 of their last 5 home games (L1) in all competitions.
- Rijeka are unbeaten in 4 away games (W2, D2) in all competitions.
- Franculino has scored 4 of Midtjylland's 11 goals in the last 5 games.
Tight tie anticipated between two in-form sides
FC Midtjylland bring superior form into UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026 and they look the right bet to overcome HNK Rijeka on home soil, but the visitors are equally on a roll and this could be a tough contest.
The Danes have won seven, drawn one and lost two of their last ten in all competitions while Rijeka have won seven, drawn two and lost only one. Midtjylland have won their last three on the spin, including a 2-0 away win and a 3-2 home comeback over Bohemian FC Dublin, while Rijeka have also gone unbeaten in their last five (W4, D1), edging Ilves Tampere 1-0 at home before a 1-1 away draw.
Mike Tullberg has put his own stamp on this Midtjylland team in the 3-4-3 or 3-1-4-2 systems, where they focus on pressing and turnovers to create fast-paced vertical attacks. Rijeka operate in a more traditional 4-3-3 setup with good central control, making quick switches of play and pressing in a more structured way.
Midtjylland have enough to nick this one
The tactical clash between these teams has a real potential to be exciting because the hosts will want to capitalise on the turnovers to score on the counter-attack while the visitors will try to slow things down and hit a straight ball wide to get in behind.
We think Midtjylland will have enough in the tank to come away with a result on home turf as they are more accustomed to the high-paced style of play and Rijeka are more used to dictating the play.
We can't ignore the fact that Midtjylland are the clear favourites at 1.7 ahead of Rijeka at 4.65 and the draw at 4.1, which makes the alternate angle of both teams to score at 1.72 more attractive because of the attacking edge to both sides.
Franculino has found his groove for FCM
Justas Lasickas has 2 of them in Rijeka's last 5 games, which is the same as the number of strikes hit by the hosts' top-scorer Franculino in UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026, where the 27-year-old has 2 goals in 2 games.
Midtjylland's forward has been in fine form, netting four of their 11 goals in the last five in all competitions, which seems to point to a strong value exact score option of 2-1.
