Slovan Bratislava travel to Merkur Arena this Thursday to take on Sturm Graz in the Europa Conference League Knockout Play-offs. Sturm Graz dropped out of the Europa League and take on Slovan Bratislava after their success in the Conference League.
Sturm Graz finished third in Group D in the Europa League. In six games, Sturm Graz had one win, one draw and four losses, leaving them on four points, seven points from Sporting and ten points from Atalanta.
In their last five games in all competitions, Sturm Graz have two wins, two draws and one loss.
A friendly saw Sturm Graz take on Pogon Szczecin. Leon Grgic did manage to get on the scoresheet for Sturm Graz, but braces from Fredrik Ulvestad, Luka Zahovic and Efthymios Koulouris gave Pogon Szczecin the 6 - 1 win. Sturm Graz bounced back in the next friendly against Dnipro 1. Mika Biereth and Alexander Prass both scored in the first half to give Sturm Graz the 2 - 0 lead. Daniel Kivinda did grab a goal for Dnipro 1, but Sturm Graz held on for the 2 - 1 win.
Neither Sturm Graz and Rukh Lviv could find the back of the net in their friendly, as both sides settled for a 0 - 0 draw. The Quarter-final of the Austrian Cup saw Sturm Graz take on Austria Wien. Tomi Horvat opened the scoring in the ninth minute and Biereth added another in the eighth minute of the first half added time. The scoreline didn’t change in the second half as Sturm Graz secured the 2 - 0 win.
The last time out for Sturm Graz was against RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. Petar Ratkov gave Salzburg the lead in the 15th minute but a goal from Otar Kiteishvili in the 80th minute to rescue a 1 - 1 draw for Sturm Graz.
Slovan Bratislava, on the other hand, finished second in Group A in the Europa Conference League. In six games, Slovan Bratislava had three wins, one draw and two losses which left them on ten points, four points from group winners Lille.
In their last five games in all competitions, Slovan Bratislava have three wins and two draws.
Marko Tolic opened the scoring for Slovan Bratislava in the 24th minute but Matej Trusa equalised for Dunajska Streda just before halftime. However, Tolic completed his brace to grab a 2 - 1 win for Slovan Bratislava. A club friendly saw Slovan Bratislava take on Al Rayyan. A Rodrigo penalty gave Al Rayyan the 1 - 0 lead at halftime, but Vladimir Weiss equalised just one minute into the second half. Thiago Mendes regained the lead for Al-Rayyan but Tigran Barseghyan’s late goal grabbed a 2 - 2 draw for Slovan Bratislava.
Omar Ali opened the scoring for Al-Wakra, but goals from Lukas Pauschek, Barseghyan, Rudolf Bozik and Tolic gave Slovan Bratislava the 4 - 1 win. Milan Tucic gave Bravo the lead in the first half, but a penalty from David Strelec grabbed a 1 - 1 draw for Slovan Bratislava.
The most recent outing for Slovan Bratislava was against MSK Zilina. Berseghyan, Weiss, Jaba Kankava and Gerson Rodrigues all scored in the 4 - 0 win for Slovan Bratislava.
This will be the first meeting between Sturm Graz and Slovan Bratislava. The furthest both sides have ever gone in Europe is the Group Stage of the Champions League for Sturm Graz and the Second round of the Champions League for Slovan Bratislava.