Rijeka VS Ilves Tampere

In this UEFA Europa Conference League third - round qualifying first - leg encounter, the gap in paper strength and recent form is far more significant than the disparity in the teams' reputations. The Croatian powerhouse Rijeka, enjoying home - field advantage, is riding on a wave of two consecutive clean - sheet wins in European competitions. They are set to face the Finnish side Elvis, which only advanced to this stage after a nail - biting penalty shoot - out. This is the first meeting between the two teams. Rijeka demonstrated excellent defensive discipline in the previous round, defeating the Irish team Derry City 1 - 0 in both legs. On the contrary, Elvis had a much tougher journey to reach this stage. They drew with the Icelandic team Stjarnan over two legs and only advanced after the penalty shoot - out.