Legia take on the visitors Aktobe in the round of 1/8-finals of UEFA Europa League Qualifications. The match will be played on Thursday, June 10th at Stadion Wojska Polskiego (Warsaw).
Legia have still not managed to reclaim their usual place among the league’s elite. The “Military Men” are widely regarded as one of Poland’s biggest clubs, having claimed their 15th league title in 2021. However, since then, at least one Ekstraklasa side has always proven stronger, leaving the ambitious Warsaw outfit with, at best, a runner-up finish. Last season, they only managed to secure fifth place, and were somewhat spared harsher criticism thanks to winning the Polish Cup. Still, the underwhelming league campaign led to a managerial change, with Romanian coach Edward Iordănescu brought in after leading his national team to the knockout stages at the last Euros. His pre-season preparations delivered mixed results, but this upcoming match will mark his official competitive debut in charge of Legia. The squad has shown glimpses of quality in friendlies but is still working on cohesion under the new system.
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Aktobe will celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2027, but have traditionally played in the shadow of teams from Kazakhstan’s twin capitals, Astana and Almaty. Nevertheless, the club boasts five league titles and two domestic cups, with the most recent coming just last year. They also finished fourth in the 2023 Premier League, showing signs of a potential revival. However, the current campaign has been very inconsistent—an early Super Cup loss, a disappointing cup exit, and a poor league stretch with just one point in four rounds. That said, they bounced back impressively by thrashing Turan and followed that up with a gritty performance against Atyrau last weekend. Fitness might be an advantage, as Aktobe are already mid-season, but they’ve been unreliable away from home.
These sides met once before, in the 2014 Europa League qualifiers, with Legia recording two clean-sheet wins. As with many other ties at this stage, home advantage could prove decisive. Expect the ambitious Poles to win with a -1.5 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Legia to win with -1.5 handicap.
