Egnatia Rrogozhina vs Lillestrøm – News and Probable Lineups

Egnatia Rrogozhine and Lillestrom will compete in the first leg of their Europa League playoff round fixture on Thursday evening.

Even if they face a loss, the Albanian champions alongside the Norwegian cup holders will still secure some form of participation in the League Phase of European football for the 2026-27 season.

Match overview

Given that there has not been a team from Albania in the main phase of a European contest since 2017-18, Egnatia is likely to feel that they have already met their objective.

Triumphs over Petrocub in the Champions League first qualifying round, as well as Shamrock Rovers in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, have marked the end of their nine-year absence from European competitions.

After falling behind 3-1 in the first leg of their second tie, Egnatia astonishingly managed to comeback and win 5-1 on home soil.

While their aim will be to reach the more lucrative stages of the Europa League, manager Nevil Dede could be hopeful about progressing further into the League Phase if they drop down to the Conference League.

Across six European matches this summer, Egnatia has only encountered one defeat. Nonetheless, there have been 29 goals scored in these games, and they have yet to keep a clean sheet.

As for Lillestrom, their entry into this competition comes following an impressive Norwegian Cup victory while they were competing in the second division.

Lillestrom has subsequently carried that momentum into their current campaign, sitting in fifth position in the Eliteserien standings with 26 points from 17 matches.

However, head coach Hans Erik Odegaard observed his squad endure three straight defeats before they managed to secure a 1-1 draw at KFUM Oslo over the weekend.

Their previous European outing resulted in a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Royal Antwerp in the Conference League third qualifying round during the 2022-23 season.

Team News

Egnatia will miss Edison Ndreca, who received two yellow cards against Shamrock, leaving a gap in their defense.

Numan Ajetovikj is expected to step in for him, while there remains uncertainty around Guillem Jaime due to an injury sustained in the last European match.

Winger Alessandro Albanese has notched three goals in five European appearances throughout the 2026-27 season.

Following his team breaking a losing sequence in the last league match, Odegaard may choose to field the same Lillestrom starting XI.

Felix Va has recorded four goals and five assists from 17 games, contributing to that 1-1 draw, yet influential player Eric Kitolano is anticipated to begin the match on the bench after recently recovering from a broken leg.

Egnatia Rrogozhine probable starting XI:

Dajsinani; Smajli, Bitri, Sota, Ajetovikj; Loukili, Mederios, Aleksi, Albanese; Gruda, Adjessa

Lillestrom probable starting XI:

Dahlberg; Ranger, Gabrielsen, Kristiansen, Elkaer; Ibrahiamaj, Krygard, Nyheim; Paintsil, Gulbrandsen, Va

Considering the frequency of goals in their recent matches, Egnatia will be confident about establishing an advantage over their Norwegian counterparts. However, we anticipate that the visitors will emerge victorious in a closely contested match, giving themselves a crucial advantage for the pivotal second leg.