Celje welcome Neman to Stadion Stozice for the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round on Thursday (August 10).

The hosts booked their spot at this stage courtesy of a shootout win over Vitoria Guimaraes in the second qualifying round. They fell to a 4-3 defeat at home before a shock 1-0 win in the second leg in Portugal last week.

Gregor Badje's 65th-minute strike prompted extra time, with both sides remaining level after 120 minutes. Celje subsequently progressed with a 4-2 win in the shootout.

Neman, meanwhile, progressed to the third round of the qualifiers with a 2-0 aggregate win over Balzan. A 2-0 home win was followed by a goalless draw in Malta.

The winner of this tie face either AEK Larnaca or Maccabi Tel Aviv in the playoff round for a place in the group stage.

Celje vs Neman Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
Neman are unbeaten in seven away games across competitions, winning six.
Celje have never progressed beyond the third qualifying round of a European club competition.
Nine of Neman's last ten European club qualifiers have produced less than three goals.
Celje's four competitive games this season have had more goals scored in the second half than the first.
Seven of Neman's last nine games across competitions have produced less than three goals.

Celje vs Neman Prediction

Few gave Celje any chance of progressing past Vitoria Guimaraes in the last round, particularly after they had lost the first leg at home. However, the Rumeno-modri defied expectations to claim a shock win in Portugal. They will look to build on that to advance past this round for the first time.

Neman, meanwhile, are also making history of their own, having never made it this far in the continent before. The game is likely to be a close affair, but expect the hosts to claim a narrow win and also keep a clean sheet.

Prediction: Celje 1-0 Neman

Celje vs Neman Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Celje to win

Tip 2 - Both teams to score: No

Tip 3 - Under 2.5 goals

Tip 4 - Highest scoring half: Second half

Edited by Bhargav

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