Three League of Ireland Premier Division sides begin their second-round ties in the Europa Conference League tonight.
Shamrock Rovers did not expect to be at this stage of the Conference League, and most certainly not to be back in Hungary against a Ferencvaros side humiliated 3-0 at home by Klaksvik of the Faroe Islands last week.
Derry City are at the Brandywell as Finnish league leader KuPS visit.
Dundalk are seeded in round two thanks to their previous exploits.
An Icelandic side have already claimed an Irish scalp this year, with Breidablik knocking out the champions, and though KA Akureyri are not having as successful a season they should pose the Lilywhites a challenge this evening.
To qualify for the group stages, the Irish teams will have to battle through four qualifying rounds in total.
Ferencvaros v Shamrock Rovers, Groupama Arena, 6pm
Live on LOI TV (subscription required)
Shamrock Rovers are looking to bounce from their disappointing Champions League exit to Breidablik.
These two sides met in last year's Europa League, with Ferencvaros progressing thanks to a 4-1 aggregate victory, while Rovers ended up making it through to the group stages of the Conference League.
Ferencvaros proved too much for the Hoops in the home leg of that game 12 months ago. However, Bradley’s side took the game to them in the return leg at Tallaght Stadium, and while the could not overturn the 4-0 first-leg result, they did manage to beat the Hungarians in the second leg.
The Budapest outfit went on to record wins over Trabzonspor, Monaco and Red Star Belgrade in their group before being eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen.
Bradley admitted that his side would offer a strong element of caution for the first leg, with one eye on the second leg and remaining in the tie for the Tallaght return.
However, the manager feels that his side have a fighting chance in the tie and will be encouraged by the fact that Ferencvaros were also beaten by Klaksvik.
"We've got to respect what we’re up against," said Bradley. "We’ve seen first-hand how good they can be when they’re attacking.
"We’ve got our own threats as well. We’ve got to believe and trust ourselves. We always create chances in any game. I don’t see tonight being any different.
"It’s an extremely difficult game, we know that. But I think we saw last week that they are obviously beatable. We know we are against a top team, they were missing a few players last week and I’d imagine they'll come back in, which makes them stronger again.
"We faced them last year and saw first hand they are a good side. We know we’ll have to be at our very best to get something from the game.
"We’ll go with a gam-plan to try and keep everything up in gear for bringing it back to Tallaght. We’ve seen what we can do in Tallaght on European nights."
Bradley confirmed that Rory Gaffney would not be available for the first leg while Rovers have travelled without some key players, including Jack Byrne, Trevor Clarke and Neil Farrugia.
Derry City v KuPS, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, 7.45pm
Live on LOI TV (subscription required)
The Candystripes welcome Finnish side Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) to Foyleside after edging past Torhshavn of the Faroes in the first round.
KuPS are second in the Finnish Premier League.
Ruaidhri Higgins was delighted with his side's progression this season - the first time in nine years that Derry had won through a round in Europe - but said more would be needed to get past their current opponents.
"It's absolutely no disrespect to Torshavn, but KuPS are a step up again" said the City manager.
"We've had them watched and obviously done plenty of preparation work ahead of the tie and they have some real quality players.
"They also have pedigree in this competition, coming through three rounds in both the two previous years before losing out in the final qualifiers to Cluj and Union Berlin respectively.
"It's a very difficult tie for us but we have quality players of our own as well; players who have been this far, and further themselves.
"I thought we were really good for 130 of the 180 minutes against Torshavn and we need to reproduce that level for the whole tie this time."
Sadou Diallo's goal that has set up their tie with Finnish side HuPS this week 🇫🇮
— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) July 26, 2023
Can the Candystripes go one step further?#LOI | #LOIEURO pic.twitter.com/sF7d3CXkEv
On the team news front, the City boss said that Adam O'Reilly would return to the squad following suspension and that it was an otherwise clean bill of health for his charges.
"Adam has been out for a few weeks and we've missed him. He gives us real energy and he's champing at the bit to get going.
"Other than that, we're working off the same squad as the first round.
"It's a big night for us and I hope our supporters can create the same atmosphere that they did last Thursday night.
"Our home form has really picked up recently and we'll be looking to build on that.
"We lost the home leg against a quality Riga side last year but then had two or three great chances out there to pull it back, so we'll be looking to start positively here and trying to win the game."
KA Akureyri v Dundalk FC, 7pm
Live on LOI TV (subscription required)
Dundalk's reward for beating Bruno's Magpies of Gibraltar 3-1 at Oriel Park last week is a trip to Iceland to face KA.
KA are having a mixed campaign in the Icelandic Premier League; they are seventh of 12 teams having taken 20 points from 15 games.
They beat Connah's Quay Nomads 2-0 both at home and away in the last round.
John Martin sent Dundalk on their way to a massive Europa Conference League tie with KA tomorrow.
— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) July 26, 2023
Will it be another famous Dundalk night in Europe?#LOI | #LOIEURO pic.twitter.com/AgrzPN3T2S
Stephen O'Donnell's side are boosted by the return of club record goalscorer Pat Hoban and Louie Annesley, who both missed the 1-0 FAI Cup win over Shamrock Rovers on Sunday.
"We're looking forward to the game," O'Donnell told Dundalk's Twitter account. "The more European trips you get on, the more experience you get.
"They carry an offensive threat. They have good interplay from midfield up and good quality in the final third.
"Our job is obviously to make sure we're secure and then to try and wrest control of the game and be the biggest attacking threat.
"It will be a tough game, a very competitive game and I foresee it being a very tight game over the two legs.
"It has been a good week or so and hopefully the next seven or eight days will be just as good."
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