Bala Town host Paide Linnameeskond at Park Hall tonight in their UEFA Conference League qualifier.
The Lakesiders are no strangers to Europe but after a year off from continental football, they are back. They are up against Paide Linnameeskond who themselves have had numerous European campaigns.
This is the first time they will face opposition from the United Kingdom, and they are hoping to progress for the third time in five European campaigns. Paide have beaten Dinamo Tbilisi and Ararat-Armenia, but gone out at this stage previously to Śląsk Wrocław and B36 Torshavn.
To help us get more of an understanding of Bala Town’s opponents, we’ve spoken to the Estonian Football Podcast ahead of the tie. They tell us how they’re expected to line up and what kind of team they are like.
What transfer business have Paide Linnameeskond done ahead of the tie?
Most notably Paide have signed Estonia Right Back Michael Lilander after a short stint in Ireland with Bohemians, Lilander is a four time Estonian Champion with Flora and returns to Paide where he started his career on a short term deal.
Otherwise, Paide have a partnership with Real de Banjul in The Gambia and have signed two young players, whether they feauture vs Bala Town remains to be seen.
Paide have added reinforcements at centre back with Milan Delevic signing from the Serbian Premier League, having only kept 4 clean sheets in 20 league games, reinforcements is needed.
What players should Bala Town watch out for?
Ebrima Jarju in goal is a very solid GK, however, he came off injured in Paide’s last game, so hopefully, it’s just a precaution.
Robi Saarma is having a great year scoring 10 and assisting five in 20 games. It’s also worth keeping an eye on 16-year-old talent Patrik Kristal in the midfield.
How do you expect Paide to line up? (Formation, positions etc) – with perhaps a bit of explanation behind it.
Paide have usually lined up with a 4-3-3 this season whilst sometimes operating a 4-4-2, and a 3-4-3 at the start of the season.
You can expect to see, Robi Saarma, Henrik Ojamaa and Thomas Agyepong `as the three main attacking options.
Karl Mööl has seemed to make the RB position his, but with Michael Lilander signing there is now some competition. Expect to see Predrag Medic and Oskar Hõim in the DM positions if operating a 4-4-2, otherwise, Patrik Kristal would be joining Medic in the midfield, with the possibility of Mööl.
Since the draw, Paide have played three games. Will they have the edge over Bala, who are said to be struggling with injuries?
Paide have really struggled with inconsistencies this season, in the last three games mentioned, they’ve picked up just four points against teams with all due respect they should be winning comfortably against.
Paide have also played against the other ‘big 3’ in Estonia seven times this season in the league, losing five of those and winning just two which happened to be very early in the season.
When the draw was made, the talk from Estonians was that Paide had the easiest draw amongst all Estonian teams, but opinion has changed slightly since the last few results.
What kind of team are Paide? Do they have a specific style of play? What kind of boss is Ivan Stojković?
When Stojkovic was first appointed, he built a squad that was very hard to beat, this season in his first full season in charge it seems he’s tried going for the solid at the back with a very fluid counterattack.
How do you expect the game to pan out?
If the draw was at the start of the season I would say Paide wins 10 times out of 10, but Paide have lost five of their last 11 games in the league, they seem to be struggling to get any momentum going, I think they will fancy their chances – but I would be satisfied with a draw.
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