Polissia vs Copenhagen: Zhytomyr side face Danish giants in Slovakia

Polissia Zhytomyr are back in European qualification for the third time, and once again the draw has been unkind. The Ukrainian side take on Copenhagen in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round on Thursday, July 23, at the Košice Football Arena in Slovakia. Kick-off is at 21:00 local time, with Portuguese referee David Rafael Oliveira da Silva in charge. Live on MEGOGO. Copenhagen are a club that belongs on a bigger stage. Just last season they were facing Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Two years ago, they pushed Manchester City in the Round of 16 and battled Manchester United in the Europa League quarterfinals. But a disastrous domestic campaign saw them finish seventh in the Danish Superliga. The club turned to Bo Svensson, who replaced Jacob Neestrup and steadied the ship. Under Svensson, Copenhagen lost only the Danish Cup final to Midtjylland. Since then, they’ve been producing high-scoring games – conceding, but scoring even more. Interestingly, three Copenhagen players featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup: goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski (Croatia), defender Junnosuke Suzuki (Japan), and midfielder Elias Achouri (Tunisia). Kotarski didn’t play a minute, Suzuki got only a brief appearance, and Achouri’s Tunisia had a tournament to forget. Polissia, meanwhile, are coming off a historic bronze medal in the Ukrainian Premier League – a fine start for head coach Ruslan Rotan. Summer reinforcements include Leandro Andrade from Qarabag, Andrusva Araujo from Kryvbas, and permanent deals for Maksym Braharu (Dynamo Kyiv) and Heorhiy Buschan (Al-Shabab). Buschan starts in goal tonight. Pre-season friendlies against Universitatea Craiova, Jagiellonia, and Viktoria Plzeň yielded no wins – a worrying sign. The potential third-round opponents (Debrecen or Pyunik) look far weaker than Copenhagen, so this tie may define Polissia’s entire European campaign. Bookmakers favour the Danes: Copenhagen win at 1.84, Polissia win at 4.20, draw at 3.72. Prediction: 1-2. Probable lineups: Polissia: Buschan – Mykhaylichenko, Chobotenko, Sarapiy, Krushynskyi – Fedor, Babenko, Emerllahu – Andrade, Krasnopir, Veleten. Copenhagen: Runarsson – Beimo, Garananga, López, Mayri – Elyounoussi, Clem, Madsen, Achouri – Cornelius, Moukoko.