Borac Banja Luka vs CFR Cluj

Borac Banja Luka face the daunting task of overcoming a 3-1 first-leg loss against CFR Cluj as the two sides lock horns at the Gradski Stadion Banja Luka in the return leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.

The first-leg reverse stretched Borac’s winless streak in all competitions to three matches (D1, L2), which represents a significant turnaround on their previous form that saw them put together four straight wins. A tight, keenly-contested affair remains well on the cards, as eight of Borac’s last ten competitive fixtures have seen the sides separated at full-time by under 1.5 goals (W6, D2, L2). Since suffering a 2-0 defeat to Rio Ave in last season’s Europa League qualifier, the ‘Red-Blues’ have gone unbeaten in their subsequent 16 home games across various competitions (W12, D4 – 90 mins only), with 58.33% of their wins in that period coming by at least a two-goal margin. Marko Maksimovic’s men can also take confidence from scoring 2+ goals in five of their last seven competitive home games.

Meanwhile, rocked by a shocking penalty shoot-out defeat to U Craiova 1948 in the Romanian Super Cup last time out, the visitors will be looking to defend a two-goal lead and advance to the next qualifying round. That loss ended Cluj’s four-match winning streak in competitive matches despite marking their fourth clean sheet in a row. Away from home, the ‘Railwaymen’ are unbeaten in seven games on the trot, friendlies included (W5, D2), a sequence that saw them register five shutouts. Indeed, the clean-sheet has been a common theme in Cluj’s recent fixtures on the road, with eight of their last ten trips seeing one or both teams fail to trouble the scoreboard.