The first match of the 2nd qualifying round of the 2025/26 Conference League between Kosice (Slovakia) and Neman (Belarus) will take place on July 24 at the Kosice Football Arena. Kosice vs. Neman: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Kosice
In the last Slovak championship, the team finished only in fifth place but managed to secure a spot in the Conference League after DAC 1904 was disqualified by UEFA. As a result, Kosice will participate in this tournament for the first time. Notably, the last time the Slovaks played in European competitions was in the 2014/15 season when the team was eliminated in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, failing to overcome Czech side Slovan (0:1, 0:3).
- The club has not lost in their last five home matches in the Slovak championship (2 wins, 3 draws).
- At least three goals were scored in 7 of the last 8 home matches in this tournament.
- Both teams scored in the last seven home matches of Kosice in the Slovak championship.
Predicted lineup for Kosice (5-4-1)
David Siposh – Matej Madlenak, Jan Krivak, Emilian Metu, Dominik Kruzhlyak, Osman Kakey – Adam Golyan, David Gallovich, Matej Jakubek, Zayen Jones – Vladimir Perisic.
Neman
The team from Grodno confidently passed the first qualifying round, defeating Armenian side Urartu over two legs (2:1, 4:0). As a result, Neman managed to secure consecutive victories for the first time in the Conference League. Moreover, before the second leg against the Armenians, the team had never scored more than two goals in this European competition. It is also worth noting that the Belarusians have kept only two clean sheets in their last six matches in the Conference League.
- The team has not lost in regular time in 4 of their last 5 away matches in the Conference League (2 wins, 2 draws).
- The club has not conceded more than one goal in 90 minutes in their last five away matches in this European competition.
- At least one of the opponents failed to score in regular time in 3 of Neman's last 4 away matches in the Conference League.
Predicted lineup for Neman (4-5-1)
Maxim Belov – Konstantin Kuchinsky, Egor Parkhomenko, Ivan Sadovnichiy, Yuri Pantya – Amantur Shamurzaev, Andrey Yakimov, Egor Zubovich, Mikhail Kozlov, Anton Suchkov – Pavel Savitsky.
Referee
Lionel Chudi (Switzerland)
Matches – 5 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 25;
Average yellow cards per match – 5;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 20%.
Kosice vs. Neman: Match Prediction
Despite the home advantage, it will be challenging for the Slovaks to achieve a maximum result. Kosice has not participated in European competitions for over ten years, and they only qualified for this Conference League edition by finishing fifth in the last Slovak championship. Moreover, the club does not frequently win at home even in domestic competitions: in their last 15 home matches in the championship, the team secured only five victories (7 draws, 3 losses). Additionally, the Slovaks have not played an official match this season yet.
Neman confidently overcame Urartu in the previous qualifying round and generally shows decent results in the Conference League. Even away from home, the team from Grodno has previously challenged their opponents: in their last five away matches in this European competition, the club lost only once (2 draws, 2 wins). Furthermore, the Belarusians conceded only three goals during this period. I expect another quality performance from Igor Kovalevich's team, so my prediction: Win for Neman or draw
* The starting lineup for each team is based on their previous match.
