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Kalmar host Pyunik at the Guldfågeln Arena in Sweden on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round.
The Red Brothers are currently in the midst of their 2023 season in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish club football.
With 25 points in the bag from 16 games, Henrik Jensen's side are in sixth position in the league table and recently ended their three-game winless run with a 1-0 defeat of Varbergs.
Currently five points off the European places, Kalmar need to up the ante. Maybe, the prospect of playing in their first European game since the 2012-13 season might inspire their best form.
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The club came fourth last season, which secured their passage to the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.
Speaking of Pyunik, the Armenian side made light work of Narva Trans in the last round of these qualifiers. They won the first leg 2-0 at home followed by a 3-0 thrashing in the return.
Yegishe Melikyan's side are looking to make their second consecutive appearance in the Conference League, having reached the group stages of the competition last season. However, with two wins and four defeats, they couldn't make it beyond the first round.
Kalmar vs Pyunik Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Kalmar and Pyunik meet for the first time in history.
- Pyunik have won each of their last three home game in Europe by a score of 2-0 (vs Slovan Bratislava and Zalgiris in the 2022-23 Europa League, and vs Narva Trans in the 2023-23 Europa Conference League qualifiers).
- Pyunik are looking for their third consecutive clean sheet in the Conference League qualifiers, having shut out Narva Trans both home and away in the last round (2-0 and 3-0).
- Kalmar are playing in their first European qualifiers in 11 years - their last such appearance came against Swiss team Young Boys, who beat them 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Kalmar vs Pyunik Prediction
Kalmar are making a rare excursion in Europe here, while for Pyunik, it's almost a yearly routine.
Their performance in the last round of these qualifiers was also strong and they should prevail here once more.
Prediction: Kalmar 0-2 Pyunik
Kalmar vs Pyunik Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Pyunik to win
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No
