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Linfield will face Pogon at Windsor Park on Thursday in the first leg of their second-round UEFA Europa Conference League qualification clash.
The home side had a largely solid campaign last season picking up 77 points from 38 games. They finished second in the Northern Ireland Premiership, ending their four-year reign as champions but will now return to the continental stage.
Linfield faced Albanian outfit Vllaznia in the previous round of the Conference League qualifiers, picking up a 3-1 win in the first-leg via goals from Christopher McKee and Jack Scott and then losing 1-0 in the second leg.
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Pogon performed well in the Polish Ekstraklasa last season and will now play in the European qualifiers for a third consecutive season. They finished fourth in the league table with 60 points from 34 games, their second-highest points tally in their last 13 seasons in the top-flight.
The visitors beat Warta Poznan 1-0 in their league opener last week, with Greece international Efthymis Koulouris scoring the sole goal of the game on his league debut. They will be looking to build on that this week.
Linfield vs Pogon Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Linfield and Pogon.
- The home side have had just one competitive meeting against Polish opposition since they made their debut on the continental stage in the 1959-60 campaign.
- The visitors will make their first-ever competitive trip to Northern Ireland this week.
- Linfield are without a clean sheet in their last three games across all competitions.
- Five of Pogon's eight league defeats last season came away from home.
- Only two of the Blues' seven league defeats last season came on home turf.
Linfield vs Pogon Prediction
Linfield's latest result ended a three-game winning streak and they will be looking to bounce back here. They are yet to lose a competitive game on home turf this year and will fancy their chances ahead of Thursday's clash.
Pogon have won four of their last five games across all competitions. They have had mixed results on the road of late but are the stronger side ahead of the midweek clash and should win this one.
Prediction: Linfield 0-2 Pogon
Linfield vs Pogon Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Pogon to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Eight of the hosts' last 10 matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of the visitors' last six matches)
